Uncertainties swirl around Modesto’s Gallo Center, shut down by coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has left Modesto’s largest and most visible performing arts center wrought with uncertainties about its future.
“I feel like I’m navigating down a long, dark hallway with Vaseline on my glasses,” Gallo Center for the Arts Chief Executive Officer Lynn Dickerson said in late June.
The Gallo Center has been closed since mid-March because of the virus. Dickerson was forced to reschedule 27 shows and cancel three in the midst of its 2019-20 season.
With the recent uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in Stanislaus County, Dickerson was less optimistic last week the downtown venue could open in November with those rescheduled shows.
She said she’s “cautiously optimistic we will be able to have shows starting in January.”
“Obviously, it’s been pretty devastating on us because all we do is mass gather,” she said. She will meet on Tuesday with Stanislaus County Public Health Officer Dr. Julie Vaishampayan and county Chief Executive Officer Jody Hayes “to see what the horizon looks like.”
At this point, November shows remain on the schedule. While the 2020-21 season was already set when the pandemic hit, none of those acts have been announced. There are about 100 shows contracted for the upcoming season, but not yet on sale “because there are so many unknowns,” Dickerson said.
“We’re just waiting to see what happens,” she said. She will reevaluate on Aug. 1 whether they’ll be able to go on with the November shows, or if they have to cancel or again reschedule.
Some venues similar to the Gallo Center in other cities have already canceled their 2020-21 seasons, she said. “I hope that doesn’t have to be our situation.” Adding to the uncertainties is that, “a lot of big name artists (and shows) have canceled their tours for the whole year.”
The overwhelming problem facing the Gallo Center is that it can’t reopen and socially distance at the same time, she said. It doesn’t work out financially to sell tickets to only portions of the two theaters — with people 6 feet apart — and still be able to cover the costs of expensive, national acts.
The center includes the 444-seat Foster Family Theater and the 1,250-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater.
No ticket revenue “devastating”
Financially “it’s pretty devastating,” she said, with no revenue coming in since the middle of March. “Donors continue to be generous and I’m incredibly grateful for that.” Still, donations are at about 60 percent of normal.
The Gallo Center had to refund more than $300,000 in tickets when they canceled the remainder of the current season. “Fortunately, we ran a tight ship and we were on track to have a good year, Dickerson said. “We went into this catastrophe in a good financial position.”
But as the pandemic has gone on, they’ve had to draw on the center’s endowment, she said.
The Gallo Center did receive nearly $480,000 in Paycheck Protection Program money, which allowed them to keep employees on until mid-June, she said. Since, they’ve furloughed 17 full-time workers. They are working now with a staff of eight, who all took a reduction in pay and hours.
Dickerson hopes to get financial aid from the county, which she said received federal money to help community organizations, to keep the center operational.
Expensive to maintain center’s systems
They can’t just close the doors and walk away, Dickerson said, because there are systems that have to be maintained. “It’s still really expensive to operate the building even if nothing is happening,” including an electricity bill that’s about $25,000 a month. The air conditioner has to run at a certain level to keep systems from shutting down and being destroyed.
The Gallo Center is truly a nonprofit, she said, not supported by a city or university or county. “We are kind of in an unusual situation in that we’re in this alone.”
Dickerson said the center closing also has a “devastating impact on downtown,” and that the center contributes $15 million to Modesto’s economy, including restaurants and hotels.
“When we’re shut down the whole impact on the community is negative,” she said.
Dickerson worries about restaffing
If the 2020-21 season has to be canceled, Dickerson doubts they’ll be able to bring back all of their staff, a group of people with unique skills such as handling sets, lighting engineers, sound engineers and others. Most likely they will find jobs elsewhere, she said.
“We were really a well-oiled machine,” Dickerson said. “It’s heartbreaking, putting it all back together again won’t be easy.”
In the meantime, they have thoroughly cleaned the building, including every seat, repainted all the walls and done other work so when the center does reopen it will be “in great shape.”
Despite all the uncertainties, Dickerson is confident about the Gallo Center’s future.
“We will survive this,” she said. “It’s just how expensive it’s going to be in the meantime.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
