$10M in ARPA funds for Oklahoma's arts is dubbed 'transformational investment'

Jared Blount is feeding a childhood dream by taking on the lead role of Seymour Krelborn in the campy classic "Little Shop of Horrors" for Guthrie's Pollard Theatre.

"I was like 12 when I saw the movie, and then my drama teacher in high school said, 'Well, you know, it's actually a musical.' And then everything about my life for the next five or six years was 'Little Shop of Horrors,'" Blount recalled.

But as the artistic director of the long-running nonprofit theater, starring in the Pollard's June 9-July 1 show isn't doing much to alleviate Blount's sense of being in the weeds, a persistent feeling he's been coping with since the March 2020 COVID-19 outbreak.

"After the pandemic, our company went from seven people to two full-time company members, essentially. It's just become a point of order to try and cut as many costs as we can," said Blount, a longtime Pollard company member who became the theater's artistic director in 2021.

"I really love being able to literally have my hand in everything — and my hands are drenched in paint 90% of the time. ... But I would love to get to a point where I could just say, 'Hey, how are rehearsals going?' because, yeah, it's been a lot."

Artistic Director Jared Blount is starring as mild-mannered florist Seymour Krelborn in the campy classic "Little Shop of Horrors" June 9-July 1 at Guthrie's Pollard Theatre.
Artistic Director Jared Blount is starring as mild-mannered florist Seymour Krelborn in the campy classic "Little Shop of Horrors" June 9-July 1 at Guthrie's Pollard Theatre.

As the 2023 regular session wound down, the state Legislature approved a proposal investing $10 million in state American Rescue Plan Act funding in rebuilding Oklahoma's arts and cultural sector.

It was an encore for the proposal: During last fall's special session, Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed $10 million in ARPA funding that the Legislature voted to allocate to the Oklahoma Arts Council so the state agency could offer grants to nonprofits affected by the pandemic.

The new bill advancing the proposal became law on May 26, setting the stage for what Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples called a "transformational investment (that) will pay long-term dividends in creative workforce development, talent retainment, education and more."

How is the $10 million in ARPA funding expected to help Oklahoma's economy? 

Spearheaded by the Oklahoma Arts Council, along with Allied Arts OKC and Arts Alliance Tulsa, the ARPA for Arts and Culture proposal sought a once-in-a-lifetime post-pandemic investment in arts and cultural infrastructure statewide. Organizations like Oklahomans for the Arts and the Oklahoma Museums Association supported the proposal.

"Arts and culture support workforce development, talent retention and attraction, and placemaking, which are all key factors in economic development. This funding will help Oklahoma’s economy to continue to grow," said Allied Arts OKC President and CEO Sunny Cearley in a statement.

Information about opportunities for organizations to apply for grants made possible by the $10 million ARPA investment is expected to be available soon.

"With 50 percent of the funding prioritized in our plan for rural communities, it will spark vital community and economic development across all 77 counties, reaping benefits for generations to come," Sharples said in an email.

Jeremiah Matthew Davis talks about paintings during a preview of the Art of Food at Contemporary of Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Feb.8, 2023.
Jeremiah Matthew Davis talks about paintings during a preview of the Art of Food at Contemporary of Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Feb.8, 2023.

How are central Oklahoma arts organizations still struggling post-pandemic?

Jeremiah Matthew Davis would never recommend opening a new $30 million nonprofit arts center during a global pandemic.

But that's what happened to Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, which was forced to cancel the March 2020 grand opening of its home on downtown OKC's Automobile Alley due to the COVID-19 outbreak. After 12 years of planning and two years of construction, the new arts center instead slowly opened in phases largely dictated by the pandemic.

"We're still not over the awareness-building impact that we took by not having what we estimated to be about 15,000 people coming through our doors within the first 10 days or so of opening," said Davis, who was Oklahoma Contemporary's artistic director until he was promoted to director 18 months ago.

Davis was among several central Oklahoma arts leaders to praise the news of the coming infusion of state ARPA funds. Just because organizations are putting on plays or art exhibits, he said, that doesn't mean their troubles ended when the COVID public health emergency did.

"We're still seeing us in recovery mode in a variety of ways. The good news is, attendance is increasing year over year. Our school group visits increased by 93% this year alone. We've got increased tuition in our studio school classes, and camp (enrollment) is nearing 100%," Davis said.

"But the the industry locally, in Oklahoma statewide, in rural areas, in urban areas and all across the country has still not bounced back."

Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron leads a rehearsal for "Head Over Heels" at Lyric's Plaza Theatre in Oklahoma City on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron leads a rehearsal for "Head Over Heels" at Lyric's Plaza Theatre in Oklahoma City on Saturday, April 2, 2022.

How are theaters making a post-COVID comeback?

Lyric Theatre Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron also said the state's ARPA investment in the arts is sorely needed.

"It's a commitment from the state government that most states have not made with the ARPA money. ... At this point, most of the COVID relief money is all gone across the nation, and right now is when arts organizations are really feeling the hurt," Baron said.

"We're still trying to create fulfilling programming that people want and figure out how people are buying tickets and how they're coming back. The cost of what we're doing still far outweighs how much income we're bringing in. We know that everyone's going to come back, it just takes a couple of years. So, this is going to bridge that gap."

How are theaters dealing with still-lagging ticket and subscription sales?

Although Lyric is in the middle of its usual summer move from the Plaza District to the Civic Center — this year's three-show summer season starts with a hotly anticipated June 27-July 2 production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "The Sound of Music" — the venerable OKC theater is still trying to get back to its pre-COVID normal.

Lyric Theatre's season subscriptions are down about 30%, Baron said.

"We're about to enter our first (subscription) renewals for 2024 for this summer, and it's the first time we're doing renewals where the pandemic is clearly in the past. ... I feel like subscriptions are going to bounce back up this summer. What has actually already bounced back up in huge ways is our single tickets," Baron said.

As theaters focus their resources on what patrons see on stage, Baron said many have been forced to scale back staffing, educational programs and development and are still trying to build back in those areas.

"Backstage, theaters are struggling really hard. We have two people in our scene shop building scenery. We're bringing in a lot of part-time people, but that's just not an economical model we can sustain. So, the hiring back of real jobs that are full-time for real artisans or people working in administration is where we need to continue to ramp back up."

At Guthrie's Pollard Theatre, Blount said he is particularly excited that half of the state ARPA funds for the arts will go to rural organizations like his.

"This is an artistic home for hundreds of patrons. This is the place that they come to experience any amount of culture or the shared human experience," said Blount, who grew up in Edmond and Guthrie. "If something like this didn't exist, then I don't know where these people would go. ... So, I think that it's important to have these entities accessible to people."

As "Little Shop of Horrors" closes The Pollard's 35th season, Blount said the Season 36 announcement is coming soon, even if the company still only has two full-time and two part-time staffers to make it happen.

"I think it's just the nature of theater right now. It just seems like everybody's ... like, 'We've got to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get back into this thing,'" Blount said. "It's been rewarding in many ways ... and it's doable. But it is a lot."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Proposal OK'd to invest $10 million in ARPA funding in Oklahoma's arts