What Do Local Performing Artists Do While They Wait to Get Back Onstage?

Boil down the performing arts to their essence &emdash; strip away the buildings, the stages, the lights, all the peripherals &emdash; and they come down to this: an artist and an audience member, sharing creative work in the same room.

And when we can't be in the same room? When we're forced to be absent from each other? Where does the art go? How do you scratch that itch? Not just from the audience members' side, but from the performers' side?

If nothing else, the pandemic has driven home the point that art happens within the context of a community.

Panoringan: 10 Great Spots for Dining Al Fresco in Orange County

The dining landscape changed again this month, as bars were shut down for the second time and restaurants are forced to do takeout, delivery, and patio seating only. These guidelines have caused businesses and the cities they're in to rethink the service model, designing non-traditional gathering spaces to suit their needs. Let's take a look at three types of outdoor seating: city-assigned, existing patios, and spaces where it previously didn't exist.

Todd D. Smith is Leaving the Orange County Museum of Art

Todd DeShields Smith, the director and CEO of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), has decided to leave the 58-year-old museum to become executive director of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, OCMA announced Friday.

While the majority of Orange County's arts and culture organizations and venues remain physically closed; virtual/streaming offerings are thriving, and some outdoor venues are beginning their phased re-openings. Arts Orange County is pleased to combine its recommendations for online enrichment with some good news about places you can now visit personally. ArtsOC and Voice of OC continue to urge everyone to follow the State and County's current precautionary guidelines as they venture out. Masks and distancing save lives. 
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

OC Fair Goes Virtual

Relive past O.C. Fairs with concerts, special performances, and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage, along with games and contests for the family and new performances broadcast on Facebook Live  DETAILS »
RE-OPENING

Summer Picnics at the Mission

Mission San Juan Capistrano will reserve a piece of its splendid grounds for your family to enjoy a socially-distant outdoor meal  DETAILS »
VIRTUAL VISIT

Live Garden Tips with Roger's Gardens

Learn gardening tips and tricks during these live interactive video visits to the botanical splender of Roger's Gardens  DETAILS »
For the Family

May the Farce be With You

The Arts & Learning Conservatory presents a unique, laugh-filled online "radio drama", presenting a world of adventure and aliens with a cast of child voice actors from their workshops  DETAILS »
EXTRA

National Theatre at Home: Amadeus

The beloved series of filmed performances from the best of British theater continues with this acclaimed revival of Peter Shaffer's Tony-winning play about how the genius of Mozart drove another composer to madness.  DETAILS »
Editor's Note: This email newsletter is provided in partnership from Voice of OC, Orange County's nonprofit newsroom, and Arts OC, the officially designated nonprofit arts agency for the County of Orange, CA. Together we are proud to share the latest arts and culture news and curated events listings. Our readers can rely upon stories by established arts journalists and events from the largest Orange County database of arts and cultural events, workshops, jobs, individual artists, organizations and venues.

Voice of OC is Orange County's nonprofit newsroom with a mission to consistently deliver fair, focused and thorough journalism on critical quality of life and local issues for Orange County communities.

voiceofoc.org

Arts Orange County builds appreciation of, participation in and support for the arts and arts education throughout Orange County. Event information provided by SparkOC, an Arts OC program. 

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