THE STRAND MAY BE GRAND, BUT IS IT STILL RELEVANT?

The pandemic has changed the "normal" for everyone, every business and every nonprofit organization.

Getting butts in the seats for the Strand, the Shreveport Symphony, the Shreveport Opera, the Shreveport Little Theatre and, to some extent, Stage Center has always been a challenge.

Ticket sales rarely cover 50% of operating costs. Getting people to attend performances is critical to donation solicitation, sponsorships, program advertising and the like.

The Strand's patronage is by and large the grey hairs -- patrons over 60. COVID has not been kind to this group, and many still have major COVID phobias.

Additionally, the pandemic has introduced many citizens to other entertainment venues, even for classical musicals, theater productions, etc.

Patrons of the arts have learned to live without the productions that generally played at the Strand. (Compare this with the continued Symphony concerts and streaming of local theater productions.)

Most of the Strand productions that draw well are road shows that have yet to begin touring. Since Shreveport is considered to be a second- or third-tier venue, these shows are often only available on weekdays versus prime weekend times.

The Strand recently opened with local productions.

The announced COVID restrictions were overly strict at best, if not draconian. Continued insistence on these paranoid measures may serve to "spook" its intended grey-hair audience rather than encourage attendance.

Add to that a less-than-hospitable executive director and a somewhat aloof board of directors, the Strand may find that its appeal as a great, historic, restored structure does not translate into a viable arts venue.

Time moves on, and younger generations have less regard for history, formalities and old timers who act and think like old timers.

Yes, the Strand is grand!

But is it still relevant as an arts venue in Shreveport?