The initial stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Chris Sununu in March 2020 required The Music Hall in Portsmouth to shutter completely. The 142-year-old theatre in downtown Portsmouth hosts concerts and performances, literary events and other entertainment. But due to the pandemic, the gathering people in large or even smaller crowds was impossible.
In 2020, The Music Hall lost about 90% of its earned revenue, said Monte Bohanan, director of communications and community engagement.
They immediately laid off all part-time workers. By September, 40% of the fulltime staff was laid off as well. Although the venue has been able to schedule outdoor and indoor events for this spring and summer, pandemic restrictions still limit audience capacity and accompanying ticket revenue.
The Music Hall has been able to operate by using funds provided by the federal and state government. They planned to apply for a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) through the U.S. Small Business Administration the week of April 8. But due to technical difficulties, the portal was forced to shut down, leaving organizations across the country like The Music Hall to wait a few more weeks for funds initially promised in December.
The SVOG program, a $16 billion program, that included the coronavirus recovery plan, passed in December 2020 at the end of the last Congress session. It’s designed to help live venue operators, theaters, museums and movie theaters. Eligible applicants can receive a grant equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, or a maximum of $10 million. A portion of the aid, $2 billion, is reserved for businesses with no more than 50 employees. The portal reopened April 24.
An event has many moving parts, all of which have been disturbed by the pandemic. Artists and other touring groups aren’t touring, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around whether audiences will come back even if a venue can secure a performer.
“Artists don’t want to tour until they can be reasonably assured that they’re going to make enough money to cover their expenses,” said Andrew Pinard, founder and manager of the Hatbox Theater in Concord.
Unlike some other industries, it is hard for venues to revise how they do business and still make a profit. Some organizations tried virtual concert events, but many spent a lot of time and effort on a virtual concert that nobody went to, said Pinard.
“We’ve seen companies close. We’ve seen venues close, and we’re going to see even more shut down if they don’t get the shuttered venues funding. You know this is kind of the last hope for some organizations,” said Pinard.
The size and breadth of the program also leave some organizations out.
Courtney Perkins, the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s executive director, said that the SVOG model potentially disqualifies it from receiving full funding. “Because we don’t charge for tickets and have a suggested donation model, we didn’t receive the live venue relief funds, and we might not receive full SVOG,” said Perkins.
The SVOG funds would be in addition to money already received through other federal programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Save Our Stages.
— KATIE HOPPLER
