HOLYOKE – During this period of uncertainty, The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) has embraced the motto of “keeping light on your feet” as it continues to adapt its programming and ongoing support of local and international artistic performances from around the world.

Donald Sanders, artistic director of MIFA Holyoke, said he was thinking of the lesson of “keeping light on your feet,” that he had learned from his esteemed teacher in regard to rehearsals and uses it as a metaphor for what the world is facing due to the constant changes and uncertainties caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

He reflected, “People do have to remain very alive to their instincts and sometimes do things that are not known to find what can be known.” He said “keeping light on one’s feet” is a large part of how performing arts and art organizations have been dealing with this “constant terrible thing of COVID[-19] and how we keep trying to respond to something that is not in our control.”

He said when theaters were forced to stop live performances due to COVID-19, MIFA converted their live performances to virtual ones both on the radio and video. Sanders said, “We have a wonderful relationship with New England Public Radio (NEPM) and WGBH Boston, and we had already been working on various projects with these organizations. When we needed it most, it felicitously came to fruition.” He said he was proud of this strong and ongoing relationship and added dimension of programming for the Victory Theater.

In light of this, Sanders said in October they had hoped that COVID-19 would ease up, but now with the Omicron variant surging, they are going to continue to look at NEPM and WGBH for future programming outlets.

He said that either later this month or perhaps in February or March, WGBH would be broadcasting the El Puerto Rico Project created in June at the Fraser Studio in Boston and WGBH. They will be showing 10 works by Latinx and Puerto Rican composers with interviews.

The Latinx Theater Festival that started last year is additional programming on the horizon. The first musical from this festival is called “Torched!” from New York’s Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, written and directed by Rosalba Rolon, music by Desmer Guevara. “Torched!” is a production about the fires in the South Bronx in the 1970s and their impact on the community. Sanders said, “It’s a very wonderful show and what we’re doing here is they are coming to Holyoke to interview various people that lived in Holyoke and lived through similar circumstances when Holyoke had it’s series of fires.” He said due to uncertainty with COVID-19, they aren’t sure whether they will have a live show or have it available virtually through NEPM. The show is rescheduled for late spring of 2022 - the exact date has yet to be determined.

Victory Theater Update

Sanders reiterated that the Victory Theater is a 1,600 seat Broadway-sized theater that will be a regional performing arts center when it opens. It will handle Tear A, first-rate Broadway tours, and special festival events like large music tributes, concerts and special performances from around the world like The National Ballet of Cuba and the Rossini Opera Festival from Italy.

Until the Theater opens, MIFA hosts performances at venues such as The Academy of Music in Northampton, Symphony Hall in Springfield and the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center.

As for a prospective projection date of when the theater would begin construction and ultimately open, Sanders said, “We knew when we bought the theater endeavor in 2009 and from what I knew from similar projects across the country and quite frankly, we are not in an area where there’s a lot of philanthropic money etc. I knew that it would take a while. But now is the moment with all the recovery front and center being sent to municipalities and states. This is exactly the kind of project those monies are meant to stimulate.”

As of late, $250,000 of the American Rescue Plan Act funds have been allocated to the Victory Theater and Sanders said he sees that as the beginning of a public/private partnership to raise the remaining funds to get the Theater open. “It’s a tremendous sign of validation for the project,” he added.

He said the project’s total cost is $54 million, and they are at $33 million so far. The construction alone will cost $40 million. The rescue funds they just received will go towards that cost, and they will continue to raise more money to fill in the remaining gap.

Sanders said the architectural plans are complete, and they have already chosen a contractor, and once all the money is raised they can begin construction. As for a projected year that the remaining funds could be raised, Sanders said, “This is the one I say be patient about. Once all the money is in hand, then they can say, start. The construction is projected to last 18 months to two years.”

He said they would continue to raise funds and try to access various recovery acts that are going to cities. He mentioned that there is a financial award coming from the state right now, and as they communicate with the Legislature, they can begin to understand how to use the monies from it for projects like the Victory Theater.

He said, “We will continue to look for money from the recovery. Understand the recovery funds are specifically for one-time high-cost events that will have a transformative impact on their communities. Now that’s really exactly what the Victory is.”

Once the theater opens, Sanders said it would have a three-pronged impact. The first is the economic impact which will attract 75,000 people a year. The annual operating budget is set to approximately $8 million, and it will employ 140 people, not including the 100 to 150 construction workers that will be involved in the two years of construction.

The second is a social equity impact. It will be establishing a center in Holyoke, which has a 51 percent Puerto Rican population. The total population of the region is 600,000 people.
The third impact is cultural tourism, which will attract people from the region and areas including Vermont as well as regions to the west and the south. Sanders added that these tourists would also be going to restaurants and staying in hotels while visiting.

Sanders said, “The Victory is such a beautiful building. So even if there were nothing in it, people would like to go in and see it. But the fact that it’s a functioning state-of-the-art theater that can keep bringing in the flow of exciting work is really something that we have to have.”

For more information on MIFA and The Victory Theater visit https://www.mifafestival.org/.