The Palace Theatre's new livestream system will bring arts into homes

While audiences are unable to come to The Palace Theatre, Westmoreland Cultural Trust will bring programming to audiences with a new livestreaming service.

“Livestreaming will allow us to bring back much-needed entertainment and cultural experiences that have been missing since the pandemic began,” said April Kopas, CEO of Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which operates the theater. “With the easing of restrictions for indoor gatherings, there is the potential for an event to offer both an online experience to the public and a smaller, intimate (but socially distanced) in-theatre live experience, while adhering to our increased safety protocols.”

The virtual platform will allow regional cultural organizations and nonprofits to showcase local arts and entertainment in live performances viewed from the comforts of home, according to a release.

The all-inclusive service includes ticketing, use of the stage and livestreaming and broadcasting capabilities, allowing shows and performances to be shown in real time or recorded for later broadcast.

Underwritten by a $200,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the virtual platform will be used to help revitalize other businesses in the cultural district affected by the pandemic, and supplement financial losses the Trust incurred due to the rescheduling or cancellation of more than 100 events, the release says.

The grant also subsidizes use of the theater and ticketing system for nonprofits, Kopas said.

“The arts are a critical component of any community,” she said.

“Downtown restaurants and other arts organizations have also been struggling since March,” she said. “Our platform will permit us to promote dining partners and online donations to community partners and individual artists, as well as subsidize rentals for nonprofits utilizing our system.”

Inaugural livestream

The inaugural livestream will be Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s “Back to Bach – Opening Night” on Oct. 24, the first date in the symphony’s five-part 2020-2021 Front Row Season. Additional livestreams are in the works, including a seven-concert River City Brass series.

“With livestreaming, we are able to move forward with a season this year in the midst of an intermission for so many arts organizations and are able to continue to innovate and bring great live music to the Westmoreland region,” said WSO Executive Director Endicott Reindl.

The livestreaming system is a self-contained, 4-channel, live production and streaming studio with integrated control of three robotic pan, tilt and zoom video cameras. The cameras offer a 30x zoom ratio and are strategically placed inside the theatre to offer optimal viewing from any angle, the release says.

Kopas said Trust staff started looking into installing a livestream system in March, at the onset of the pandemic shutdown, as they considered a strategic reopening plan.

Going forward, she said, an “arts-meets-technology” model combining small live audiences with livestream offerings may become the new industry normal.

“We have our guidelines for actual seating capacity, and performers and staff are included in that capacity count,” she said. “We’re leaving it up to our nonprofit partners on whether they want to use this hybrid model. Really, it’s their choice and we’ll work with them.

“We’re projecting this hybrid to take us through at least the first quarter of next year, and we’re looking at what the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Broadway are doing,” she said. “Beyond that, we’ll have to reassess as we go along.”