Live at the Grounds Burdekin Drive-In Theatre

16 Jun 2021

At the height of COVID restrictions, the Burdekin Theatre team got creative and presented a drive-in outdoor music concert at the Ayr Showgrounds.

What

Like many performing arts venues, Burdekin Theatre and its local community were significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions in mid-2020 with a limited number of patrons allowed in theatres. In response to this and with the mindset of "if we can’t get the patrons to the theatre, let's take the theatre to the patrons", Burdekin Theatre presented an innovative drive-in live music event Live at the Grounds – Mega Tribute Show at the Ayr Showgrounds.

The event showcased an all Queensland line-up including three tribute shows, Mirage - The Fleetwood Mac Experience, The Great Creedence Revival Show and Killer Queen Experience, as well as new and emerging local band Boothill Express and local MC and family comedian Ricky Romeo.

Live at the Grounds was the first large-scale live music event presented by Burdekin Theatre since COVID restrictions were imposed.

When and where

19 September 2020, Ayr.

Key Stats

1 outdoor live music event staged
1 arts worker employed
16 Queensland artists employed
28 volunteers
498 attendees

Investment

$20,000 through Play Local.

Play Local is part of the Queensland Government's Arts and Cultural Recovery Package of $22.5 million over two years to stabilise Queensland’s arts companies, secure employment for artists and arts workers and deliver COVID-safe cultural experiences for Queensland audiences.

Outcomes

Presented a COVID-safe live music event: As this was an outdoor live music event, Burdekin Theatre were able to present Live at the Grounds – Mega Tribute Show to a larger audience than was possible within the indoor venue Burdekin Theatre, increasing audience capacity from 235 to 500 patrons while still remaining socially-distanced.
Restored consumer confidence: The successful presentation of Live at the Grounds event gave the community confidence in Burdekin Theatre presenting shows and events to audiences again following the COVID-19 lockdown and health and safety restrictions introduced.
Employed regional artists: The event featured new and emerging local band Boothill Express and local MC and family comedian Ricky Romeo
Community and social engagement during a challenging time: Organising such an event was difficult under very challenging circumstances Liquor licence had to consider licencing the whole show arena as all patrons were situated in their own bubbles which was line marked with social distancing parameters. Food vans and bar service areas were all line marked. Community groups assisted with car parking and gate management.
Support for creative practice: After the Covid19 and necessary restrictions decimated the music industry, this event gave some of the event artists their first paid opportunity to perform in many months. The event was also covered by local print, radio and television media before during and after the event. Consequently, this provided a lot of promotion for both the event and the artists.

Learnings and reflections

The Burdekin Theatre team found that presenting this event in a vastly changed environment challenged them to be creative and to consider new options for what would best serve the local community and audiences who attended.

We really stepped out of the box staging this event.

The fact that COVID restrictions were in place made us think about staging an event that worked within the designated conditions. The idea of a drive in type of event created a lot of interest and mystery. The staging being 2.5 metres high worked well enough to see over the top of any vehicles that partially obscured the view. The bar area (being the whole show ring - with consumption in your designated personal space) really worked well.

Police attended and got into the spirit of things by flashing lights and sirens to entice an encore. Food vans all worked well and people social distanced. To be honest everything went like clockwork.

Throughout the planning process for this event, the Burdekin Theatre team learned they needed to remain agile – particularly when it came to understanding the health guidelines and ensuring they were followed.

We originally planned for 800 attendees however reduced down to 500 after finding out that our Stage Qld COVID Safe Plan did not cover this venue, although we were originally under the impression that it was part of the operations I controlled under my Cultural Venues Manager position. This happened very late in the planning stage.” The 500 capacity worked extremely well on the night.

Feedback

“Wonderful event, well organised." – Facebook comment

“Fantastic bands, please do it again". – Facebook comment

“Well done to you and your team for organising such a great event.” – Phone message

“Just what we needed after weeks of no socialising.” – Phone message

“Band were terrific, event was so well organised, staff were great!!” – Email message

Tips for others

Planning. Make sure you go over all aspects of the event, I used the Event Management Plan to cover all bases. We had pre-event meetings with all stakeholders. Police Fire and Ambulance visited the area before the event. Traffic management and car parking was rehearsed. Have a back-up plan for most things – our security company was an hour and half late, so we had to perform bag checks utilising theatre staff. Hold team meetings before the event so everyone knows exactly position they hold.

What next?

Live at the Grounds kick-started Burdekin Theatre’s return to business and they are now back presenting live events in theatre. Following the success of the concert, they hope to produce similarly innovative live events in future.