01/06/2021 | New Name, Larger Venue Set For Freeman Stage’s 2021 | News Ocean City MD

SELBYVILLE-Freeman stage will start the 2021 season based on a larger venue and a new name.

This week, the Joshua Freeman Foundation announced that its open-air performing arts venue, Freeman Stage, is now renamed the Freeman Art Gallery.

Patti Grimes, executive director of the Joshua Freeman Foundation, who presided over the project, said: "We think now is the right time to transition from the Freeman stage to the Freeman Art Gallery. It marks our commitment to the future of the region.". "This is the latest in a series of bold initiatives that we have taken as an organization to expand our business scope and continue to fulfill our mission as a non-profit organization."

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Selbyville-based arts organization initiated the abbreviation for the 2020 season, reduced the number of people, and implemented mandatory public safety agreements. Between July and September, the Freeman stage-equipped with a cockpit, hand sanitizer station and mask requirements-held 49 performances and attracted more than 11,000 spectators.

In order to accommodate more customers in 2021, the organization plans to expand the venue. The non-profit organization recently acquired the site alongside the current Freeman Stage property.

“The Freeman Art Gallery has been in the planning stage for a long time. We realized in 2020 that our small footprint may limit our ability to show live art performances in the future,” Grimes said in a statement . "Given the success of the pod concept last year and the current public health environment caused by the pandemic, we decided to adopt a phased approach to our new property."

On November 12, the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Committee approved a temporary site selection plan that will allow the organization to expand its existing seating capacity, reducing the number of seats from 2,700 before COVID to 388 during the pandemic season (97 pods, four seats) each).

Following the same safety protocol that applies to the 2020 abbreviated season, the new larger lawn will accommodate up to 500 cockpits, but the final capacity figure is still being determined.

According to Grimes, the organization has booked more than half of the upcoming 2021 season, including many national recording artists that were originally scheduled for 2020 but failed to appear. The employee and board of directors, Michelle D. Freeman, led by the president and chairman, have been monitoring the state and CDC guidelines and remain "vigilant and flexible" when setting seasons.

At the same time, a capital campaign will be launched to complete the funding required for the new proposed investment of US$27 million in the facility, which will accommodate approximately 4,000 customers (with 1,100 seats under the roof) and provide state-of-the-art Sound equipment, lighting and video functions, expanded concessions and dining areas, as well as artist’s dressing rooms and production spaces.

According to the progress and fundraising goals, the final construction is expected to be completed in four to six years.

"From the day it was founded, the mission of this organization has been to make art available to all," Michelle Freeman said in a statement. "Even during the pandemic, we have fulfilled this mission through live performances, virtual art in educational programs, and the distribution of English and Spanish grade-guided handicrafts to local schoolchildren. The vision for the future is physical and metaphorical. In a sense, it creates a bigger stage for the local community."

Bethany Hooper has been at The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed a double degree in journalism and economics.

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