What will performing arts venues be like once they are permitted to re-open? How will venues meet the safety and health concerns of patrons and performers given the COVID-19 virus?

The Alden Theatre in the Mclean Community Center is surveying its patrons, seeking out their views and guidance related to reopening. “Audience feedback has always been important to the way The Alden does business,” said Sarah Schallern Treff, Director, Performing Arts, Alden Theatre, McLean Community Center (MCC). “Now that we’re all creating new blueprints for how we live life, community input is even more vital. We are public servants, and we strive to serve the public the way they need to be served and not presume to know what our community wants and needs.”

So the MCC created a survey to ask what people are thinking. “The survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AldenCOVIDresponse results will guide our programming through this pandemic,” said Schallern Treff. “It will help determine when and in what way we resume in-person programming, what types of virtual/distance programming we pursue, and how we communicate these offerings.

“We’re prepared to be nimble and responsive to patron needs, which we anticipate will evolve,” added Schallern Treff. “We’ve had a great deal of feedback so far. We’re grateful.”

Asked what patrons might expect at the 383-seat Alden Theatre when it does reopen, Schallern Treff noted, “We are evaluating all available options to develop a workable plan. The health and safety of our patrons are at the forefront of our decisions. We are going to comply with what the CDC, the Governor's office and the County Health Department recommend.”