This spring, the youth theatre will perform the charming, upbeat musical adaptation of a literary classic, “The Secret Garden.” Misselthwaite Manor turns out to be a gloomy fortress. Her uncle is rarely home and his young son, Colin, never leaves his room, convinced he’s an incurable invalid. Mary discovers a strange walled garden that has been locked up for years. With the help of the gardener’s apprentice, Dickon, a lad who can talk to the animals, Mary coaxes the garden back to life. The garden seems to have a wonderful, magical effect on all who come into it, allowing Mary to help restore Colin to health and a reunion with his father.
Dear members and patrons,
We want to update you on changes in plans for the Art Center Theatre for the upcoming season, but first we want to thank you for your patronage and support.
We want to particularly thank those generous donors who have contributed to help the Art Center manage through this unprecedented period that has forced temporary closure and almost complete loss of income. Between the cash reserves we had on hand, support of donors, renegotiation of our existing mortgage and a Small Business Administration loan we have structured our finances to meet the changed circumstances and remain financially viable.
Again, thank you for your continued support.
When we closed this spring, we first postponed productions for a short time. We then canceled productions through the summer, with the intent of resuming normal operations this fall.
Since that time, however, it has become increasingly clear that so long as we have the level of infection now prevalent in the state and the county we cannot present the plays originally scheduled for this fall and winter in a way that provides a safe environment for our patrons and volunteers.
For that reason, we made the difficult decision to move the plays originally scheduled for this season to the upcoming 2021-22 season. They will be presented in the same order, and on approximately the same dates, as they were scheduled for this season.
In the place of plays originally scheduled for this season, we will put on the stage a variety of productions that will include but not be limited to, smaller cast plays and musicals, monologues and monologue competitions, virtual productions, radio plays, readings and production of original works by local writers, and other activities that limit the number of people involved in presenting and attending the production.
A team of volunteers is working to develop and schedule productions for the upcoming season. Information about upcoming events will be on our website and on social media pages as it is developed.
Because of the varied nature of the productions we will not sell season tickets for this season. Instead, each show will be priced individually. Seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing. This means fewer tickets for each production. Season ticket holders will maintain their right to their regular seats if they renew for 21-22 season regardless of their ticket activity this coming season.
This is a challenging time for theaters and live performance venues. With the support of our members and patrons, we will get through this and get back to presenting the kind of quality dramas, comedies and musicals that our patrons expect and our volunteers want to present.
Again, thank you for your support and for your understanding.
Mac Harris
For the Executive Board
I want to update you on the status of the Art Center as we deal with the Coronavirus pandemic.
As you know, out of an abundance of caution and in compliance with recommendations of public health officials, we canceled the last two plays of the season and the summer musical. This decision had a financial impact in excess of $76,000 due to lost ticket sales and the need to make refunds for tickets already sold. Part of this loss offset by the generosity of many of our theater patrons who donated the price of their tickets back to the Art Center. Thank you for your generosity and support for the Art Center.
Also, we deeply appreciate the confidence in our organization shown by those patrons who have contributed during this very trying time.
As a non-profit organization owned and operated by members, we do not receive government funding. Our primary source of income is the sale of theater tickets. We also receive some income from contributions and membership dues. When we are not presenting theater productions, we lose most of our income but our ongoing expenses for maintaining the two buildings on the campus continue. These include electricity, water and sewer, telephone and cable, necessary maintenance, insurance and the other costs of an ongoing business.
We also have a mortgage that was incurred when we built the theater. We had paid it down over the years and it is scheduled to be completely paid in a little over a year. We appreciate that our banker has worked with on temporary deferral of payments.
Currently, we are operating almost totally on our financial reserves, which we are fortunate to have due to prudent stewardship over many years. With a set built and a play ready for production, our current schedule is to resume theatre productions in September. In addition, we may do special productions if possible before then. We will continue to keep you updated on our status and plans. We are soliciting special donations to extend our reserves during this time the theater is dark, and we want to give recognition to those who donate. If you have already donated, thank you. If you have not donated and would like your name listed on the plaque as a supporter of the Art Center during this challenging period, mail contributions to P.O. Box 516, Hernando, Fl 34442, or click on the “Donate” button on the front page of our website at artcenterofcitruscounty.org.
Again, thank you for your patronage and support of your Art Center.
Mac Harris on behalf of the Executive Board
1 Studio 
2 Studio 
3 Studio 
4 New Canvas 
5 Materials 
6 Adding Texture 
7 Applying Texture 
8 Sketching Subject 
9 Palatte 
10 Progres Painting 1 
11 Progress Painting 
12 Add Transparent Paint 
13 Add Opaque Paint 
14 Finishing Touches 
15 Make More Art
April 3, 2020
Dear Art Center Theatre patron,
I want to give you an update on the schedule of Art Center Theatre performances.
In March, we responded to the then-current guidance from health officials by postponing the play scheduled to open March 20 and rescheduling it to open May 1. The play that had originally been scheduled to open May 1, “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” was moved to next season.
However, since then the situation has changed, including the most recent stay at home directive from the State of Florida that is in effect until April 30. Under these circumstances, we cannot open a play on May 1, and rehearsals for the July summer musical cannot be held.
In response, we have canceled both “Will You Still Love Me in the Morning” that was scheduled to open May 1 and the summer musical “Once Upon a Mattress” that was scheduled to open July 17.
Anyone holding a ticket to the cancelled play will have the option of applying the value of that ticket to next year’s season ticket, receiving a ticket to a future play, receiving a cash refund, or donating the value of the ticket to the Art Center.
I want to thank you for your patronage and support of the theater. As a small, volunteer non- profit we do not receive any federal, state or local government operating funds. We fund the vast majority of what it costs to own and operate the Art Center with proceeds from ticket sales, so your purchase of theater tickets makes ongoing operating of the Art Center and theater possible.
Finally, I want to thank you for understanding that while we do not like to cancel events, our first obligation to you as a patron and to our volunteers is to provide a safe environment in which to enjoy the arts and live theater. We will continue to be guided by this principle going forward, and working together we can come through this crisis and resume putting quality productions on the stage.
Mac Harris, president
On behalf of the Executive Board
Categories
Art Center Letter to Patrons
March 17, 2020
Dear Art Center Theatre patron,
I want to communicate directly with you about issues that are confronting our theater and the Art Center overall.
As you know, the coronavirus threat has led to widespread cancellations and closings, from amusement parks to professional theater and athletic events. Because this is a changing situation, guidance from health officials has also been changing.
The most recent change to our operations based on guidance from health officials was the decision to postpone the opening of the next season play in our schedule, “Will You Still Love Me in the Morning,” which was scheduled to open on Friday, March 20. It will now not go on stage until early May.
When we decided to postpone this play, we also decided to move the last play of our season to a slot in next season’s schedule. We are continuing to cast and rehearse the summer musical, “Once Upon a Mattress,” which is scheduled to be on stage in July.
While we believe we are allowing adequate time before we reopen the theater to the public, this schedule could change depending on guidance from public health officials. We will communicate future decisions as soon as they are made.
What the immediate decision means is that there will be one fewer plays this season. Anyone holding a ticket to the cancelled or delayed play will have the option of applying the value of that ticket to next year’s season ticket, receiving a ticket to a future play, receiving a cash refund, or donating the value of the ticket to the Art Center.
I want to thank you for your patronage and support of the theater. As a small, volunteer non-profit we do not receive any federal, state or local government operating funds. We fund the vast majority of what it costs to own and operate the Art Center with proceeds from ticket sales, so your purchase of theater tickets makes ongoing operating of the Art Center and theater possible.
Finally, I want to thank you for understanding that while we do not like to postpone or cancel events, our first obligation to you as a patron and to our volunteers is to provide a safe environment in which to enjoy the arts and live theater. We will continue to be guided by this principle going forward, and working together we can come through this crisis and resume putting on the stage quality productions that you as an audience member enjoy attending.
Mac Harris, president
On behalf of the Executive Board
We are all going through challenging times and face an uncertainty of what lies ahead. All performances of “Will You Still Love Me in The Morning” have been postponed. I want to thank everyone for their patience while we try to contact ticket holders.
If you have not heard from us, we ask that you call the box office or email and leave a message as to whether you would like to exchange your tickets for a credit to be used towards the next season pass, request a gift certificate for future use, ask for refund or donate your ticket value back to the theatre as a charitable contribution.
Our email is: artcenterofcitruscounty@gmail.com Or you can call the Box Office 746-7606, leave a short message with your first & last name, phone number and which option you would prefer. Someone will respond as soon as possible to confirm.
I would like to thank everyone so far who has donated their tickets back to the Art Center Theatre, it is uplifting to see such support from the community.
Please, follow updates on our website (artcenterofcitruscounty.org), and Facebook page. Thank you for your patience and support through these trying times. Please stay safe, God bless and hope to see you soon.
Categories
Postponement of Activities at the Art Center
Out of an abundance of caution and to protect our patrons and volunteers, the Art Center and the Chamber of Commerce have agreed to postpone the mixer scheduled for March 19. We are also postponing opening “Will You Still Love Me in the Morning” which was scheduled to open March 20 for a three weekend run. The upcoming art exhibition will be postponed until a new date is set for opening “Will You Still Love Me in the Morning” and the exhibit on display will remain on display until then. We will continue to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health officials in setting future schedules for opening the play and for other activities at the Art Center.