ATLANTA—Spring business closures have had an outsized impact on the arts and entertainment industries – ones designed to bring people together – in a new paradigm of social distancing where our togetherness may place us at risk. The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta screened its last films on March 18, 2020, closing the facility to patrons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The oldest operating cinema in town, locally owned by College of the Arts alumnus Christopher Escobar (B.A. '08, M.A. '13), the Plaza Theatre has been making headlines for the example of artistic resiliency they're setting during the season of uncertainty.
Escobar has been on the forefront of local and national coverage to get the word out on how the Plaza Theatre maintains its anchoring presence in a slowly re-opening community.
"At Georgia State, I learned about being collaborative and resourceful and that's exactly what's going to get us through this," Escobar said of his team's efforts. "Many of our staff are Georgia State alums too, such as our Programming Manager, Richard Martin (B.A. '13) and even our partners like Lara Smith-Sutton, Managing Director of Dad's Garage (B.A.) and Ignacio Rivera (B.F.A. '17) were part of the production team that helped us figure out the screen set up. So it's no coincidence we're working together to figure out how to get through this."
Locally, news channels and print publications kept viewers up-to-date on the latest news as the state slowly lifted restrictions on different types of businesses, theatres included. Escobar spoke to Atlanta Magazine, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), 11Alive and Fox 5 Atlanta with a common, consistent message – making the safety of his staff and patrons his top priority.
"We're thinking about the safety of our customers and staff – prioritizing that and making sure we think creatively about how people can still have a good time," he told Fox 5 in an interview, and relayed the encouraging support he's received from the community to the AJC in another. See more of the information he's sharing with local news outlets in the AJC, on 11Alive, and in Atlanta Magazine.
Not least among the Plaza Theatre's coverage, the theatre was the overwhelming winner in the AJC's "Best of Atlanta" for movie theaters, earning 63% of the 10,000 votes cast.
It's no wonder that this pillar of the Atlanta film community looms large in the hearts and minds of local film-goers. Read more about the award in the AJC's Best of Atlanta series.
On "City Lights" with Lois Reitzes in April, Escobar says, "My real focus is not only keeping the Plaza open, as we all physically know and think about it, but also the people ... are to me as indivisible as the marquee and the screen, so looking out for and keeping them afloat." Hear more from this episode segment on April 1.
Both the AJC and "City Lights" took notice again last month, highlighting the Plaza's revival of the drive-in theatre format in a pop-up collaboration with local comedy theatre Dad's Garage. The films were a popular, well-attended offering in the local community, giving residents a safe way to break their weeks-long routine. As a gesture of solidarity in a hard-hit industry, Escobar supports his host with a portion of his proceeds.
In late April, even national publications took note of the actions keeping the Plaza Theatre thriving through adversity, leading their stories with images of the Plaza's iconic theatre marquee. As statewide closures lifted, Escobar was committed to responding to his audience in creative ways, making film and entertainment safe, accessible and focused on the needs of the community. See what they have to say in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, and Variety.
The Plaza Theatre may not be back to "business as usual" too quickly, but with Escobar's inventive and carefully-considered approach to re-opening, more people in the upcoming months may be introduced to the Atlanta film community #TheStateWay.