The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton has a dual mission: theatre and education. When the COVID pandemic threatened that mission, the ASC turned to the Shenandoah Valley SBDC.

“We had been in contact with the SBDC off and on over the last 11 years,” ASC Interim Controller Amy Wratchford says. Contact with the SBDC switched from “off and on” to “on” when Congress approved the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) in December 2020. The SVOG included over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues such as live venue operators, theatrical productions, and museum operators.

Sara Levinson, an SBDC business analyst, reached out to see if she could help. “Sara was very proactive,” Amy reports. “She told us the SBDC partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and asked if we wanted help applying for the SVOG.” The ASCs answered with a resounding, “Yes, please!”

Like the rest of the state, ASC shut down in mid-March 2020. “We had four shows running on stage and three shows on the road,” Amy recalls. “Fortunately, we had volunteer filmmakers, who filmed the shows for us. We were able to give our audiences a little joy with these films at a very low price.”

ASC’s Education Department also leapt into action. “Our education department realized that suddenly every parent was a homeschool parent, so they managed to get workshops up and running virtually,” Amy continues. “The education work we were doing was so successful that we had to pull back some of our staff.”

While the ASC received two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program Loans (PPP) for $421,000 and $359,000 respectively, obtaining the SVOG grant was crucial for continued operation. “When we applied for the SVOG, there was a lot of conflicting and vague information,” Amy relates. “The SBDC helped us navigate the details.”

Subsequently, the ASC received a SVOG for $1,017,656. “We’re also eligible for supplemental funding of $698,590,” Amy adds.

The next step for the ASC was to get in-person productions up and running again. “We were incredibly lucky that Dr. Allison Baroco, head of infectious diseases at our local hospital, is an ASC fan,” Amy relates. “She did a walk-through and helped us figure out how to make productions safe and possible.”

Since reopening, the ASC has held approximately 80 performances. “We’ve had roughly 10,000 people come through,” Amy adds. “We have not had one case of COVID in our staff, acting company, or volunteers.”

Would the ASC consider an encore performance with the SBDC?

“Without a doubt, we would recommend the SBDC,” Amy concluded. “COVID brought us to the SBDC, but now that we know about the services they offer, we’re excited about working with them in the future.”