June, 2021
As I write this, only the ghost light is operational in the State Theatre. It casts eerie shadows across the stage floor, and keeps watch: a sentinel, waiting for the return of humanity.
It’s precisely that humanity that the theatre requires, and it’s the same humanity that has been taken from us for over a year and a half. It’s simply the ability to be in the same room together. It’s the essence of the theatre. It’s a requirement.
And as I write this there is also hope. For the first time we can see ahead, and begin to plan a return to a more familiar world. But the benefit of a year and a half of quiet is reflection: as we’ve seen throughout this past year, a return to the same familiar world is not good enough. We must rethink: how can we do better? We must regroup and restructure. We must reinvent our worlds as a better version than the one we leave behind. As a great artist once said, “Without great solitude, no great work is possible.”
Let’s let that work begin. Let’s restart.
I can’t wait to be in the same room with you all again.
Aaron Lamb
Producing Artistic Director