Printer Friendly Version - Hard-Hit Local Venues Get Notification About Grant Awards

Madison Art Cinemas in Madison was among several venues on the shoreline and in the Connecticut River valley who received some good news about the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant progrma, but the money has yet to be delivered and there is much work to be done before the cinemas can re-open. But owner Arnold Gorlick says he is looking forward to getting that work done. Photo courtesy of Madison Art Cinemas

Arnold Gorlick has received word that funding for the Madison Art Cinemas through the federal Shuttered Venues Operators Grant (SVOG) program has been approved. While the money is not yet in hand, he says he plans to open the theater as soon as it is and he can do the work required for reopening.

Madison Arts Cinemas is among several venues along the Connecticut shoreline and in the Connecticut River Valley that have received funding through the program, which was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and amended by the American Rescue Plan Act. The program is to provide more than $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, and is administered by the Small Business Association (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance.

As of midday on June 26, more than 15,000 applications had been submitted to the program, requesting a total of about $12 billion. Of those who have already applied, about 95 percent of applicants have been notified of a decision, with about 2,700 applications having been denied and about 9,800 being awarded a total of $7.6 billion, with an average grant amount of about $770,000. Grants disbursed so far amount to about $6.3 billion. In Connecticut, 130 grants have been awarded, totaling about $97.9 million.

In this area, organizations that have been awarded grants include the Opera Theater of Connecticut in Clinton ($23,991), the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam ($2.08 million), the Connecticut Falun Dafa Association in Guilford (($155,545), the North American Entertainment Group in Guilford ($8.8 million), the Ivoryton Playhouse in Ivoryton ($522,00), Madison Art Cinemas in Madison ($276,298), Madison Lyric Stage in Madison ($19,488), Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic ($3.976 million), Mystic Aquarium in Mystic ($6.08 million), Long Wharf in New Haven ($207,181), New Haven Symphony Orchestra in New Haven ($64,811), Toad’s Place in New Haven ($748,343), the Garde Arts Center in New London ($836,080), Thos. Cavalier dba Miracle Concerts ($73,383), The Kate in Old Saybrook ($691,756), and the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford ($1.194 million).

Catherine Marx, district director of the Connecticut District Office, U.S. SBA says this program has been a high priority for the SBA.

“During a recent visit with Phil Michalowski, president of the Garde Theater, Board of Trustees…[he] got straight to the point regarding the critical nature of these grants to our shuttered venues, stating ‘without the SBA SVOG funding we would probably be auctioning off the fixtures in the theater about now,’” she says. “Our cultural institutions were the first to close and the opening involves having the financial security to pay for the debt and expenses that didn’t stop during the pandemic closure, rehiring staff that has been laid off, and funding the organizational structure of national tours. For our aquariums, they still had thousands of mouths to feed when the doors closed and no ticket sales to compensate.”

The SVOG program was built by the SBA from the ground up, she adds, “taking into consideration a complicated structure for a national federal competitive grant. Each week we see more Connecticut entities receiving awards, and we at the district office are thankful for our SBA resource partners that helped with the technical grant issues.”

And there still is a chance for venues that have not yet submitted an application.

“There is still monies in the program and the portal is still open. So any interested entity should visit sba.gov and put in an application,” she says.

Jacqui Hubbard, executive director of the Ivoryton Playhouse, says she was thrilled to receive word of the funding.

“I can only say that we are incredibly relieved and incredibly grateful and we are looking forward to using these funds for the benefit of everyone in our community to be able to come together and share music, stories, and laughter once again,” she says.

“This is a huge help as we navigate reopening, consumer confidence, but also the need to get artists and support staff back to work,” he says. “The Kate’s SVOG dollars will primarily be used for staff payroll expenses and artist payments, which are always our greatest and most important expenses. It took a long time for this support to finally arrive, and while we continued moving forward the entire time, this support gives us some security and the ability to move forward with some level of confidence we have not felt for a while. We’re grateful for the support.”

While some venues, like The Kate, the Ivoryton, and the Goodspeed, have already opened their doors and are gradually planning for a full resumption of a wide array of performances, others, like Madison Art Cinemas, remain shuttered.

Gorlick, likewise, is grateful for the award notification, but says until he has the money in hand and is able to do the required repairs and upgrades, he’s not setting an opening date.

The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system has to be fixed and possibly upgraded. The masking—the black cloth that surrounds the screens—is falling down and needs to be reinstalled. The place needs a complete and thorough cleaning. He has to stock new inventory. He has to buy equipment to replace items in the projection booth that are now outdated and no longer up to Motion Picture Association code. There are bills to be paid, balanced against zero revenue in the past year and a half.

While he was happy to hear of the award, he adds this, “It sounds like a lot of money. I can’t tell you how quickly that’s going to get eaten up.”

When told that someone (this reporter) was looking forward to enjoying a cappuccino upon the theater’s reopening, he responded that the espresso machine had been sold during the pandemic.

“I’ve got to get a new one,” he reports. “I’ve already called my supplier and they are giving me an even better deal than the last one.”