TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) – Many local businesses in our city have been hit hard by the pandemic, including our local theaters. Tucson favorites like The Scoundrel and Scamp and Unscrewed Theater have had to pivot their shows to online or other mediums in order to keep performing.

Unscrewed Theater has closed but moved its improv comedy troupes to perform on Zoom webinars. The Scoundrel and Scamp have done the same but are bringing their shows back with COVID-19 precautions in place.

Bryan Falcon, the artistic director of The Scoundrel and Scamp, says it was a tough time during their hibernation period when they had to shut down.

“It’s been a really tough year for the performing arts when the first hit we realized how inherently local theater is and how much it’s about people coming together and not just sharing a story. , but to breathe a space together that goes against what the pandemic allows us to do,” he said.

Falcon said stories that unfold live on a stage create a different world compared to watching a story unfold on a screen.

“A big part of the appeal of theater is helping people create worlds in their minds,” Falcon said. “So we had to ask ourselves how are we going to tell our stories.”

So they took matters into their own hands and created The Scamp Radio 1/2 Hour, a radio show where the team performed their songs.

“There’s a lovely little production we did called The Scamp Radio 1/2 Hour which was our take on classic radio,” he said. “It’s the imagination, the sound effects and it’s just delicious and that’s one of the great things about being out of theater is that now we have all of this content online on our website .”

He said the government’s rescue grant was extremely helpful in staying open. Barbra Coffee, director of economic initiatives for the city of Tucson, said local theaters were valiantly overcoming the obstacles of the pandemic, but the US bailout grant helped give them a boost.

“How nonprofits can apply for funding,” she said. “This puts ARPA dollars to work so that our arts and cultural nonprofit venues can apply for these funds and bring back some of their activities.”

The Scoundrel and Scamp Theater is back in person with its 2021-2022 season. On February 17, their latest production titled Ada and the Engine will open and run until February 27. You can buy tickets for the show on their website.

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