Weather issues caused Tecumseh! to cancel three shows

CHILLICOTHE – The amount of rainfall central Ohio has seen this summer has made jobs harder on those who work outside every day, construction workers, painters, roofers, farmers, performers. Yes, even actors.

Especially those in the outdoor drama, Tecumseh! — people and animals alike. Scioto Society CEO Brandon Smith said the production has had to cancel three performances this summer due to particularly troublesome weather conditions.

"Two nights were because of too much rain and lightning at the time of the show, and one night because the rain had washed the stage away. It was unsafe for the actors and the horses," Smith said.

The stage does drain naturally, and the pond in the center of the stage drains through to fields on the other side of the mountain. On July 14, Smith recorded video following a storm where rain came down so quickly that it created waterfalls off the mountain for hours, and took four days before the water completely ran off the hill. According to Smith, cast, crew and any other spare hands spent the day after the particularly bad storm unloading nearly a dozen trucks of gravel and sand to prepare the stage for the next performance.

Smith says safety for the actors and animals is the No. 1 concern, and if the stage is not in premium condition, the show may in fact, not go on.

Waverly has seen nearly 20 inches of rain between April 1 and July 26, according to the USDA Ohio Crop Weather Report for the week ending July 26.

Smith says the number of days it has rained has kept people from coming into the drama in the usual numbers.

"I think the weather affected us more by getting into people's psyche ... and I think most people who run outdoor venues would say the same thing," Smith said.

Even the box office spirited has been dampened by the pouring rain. Attendance is down 12 percent so far for this year shows, which Smith said equates to about 2,000 to 3,000 people.

On the other hand, Smith said those who are coming to this year's shows are spending more money. While it may not have much of an effect this year, he says next year's budget is more likely to see the impacts of the dip in ticket sales.

As for the animal performers, the horse barn was built on higher ground, so they have been able to avoid most of the concerns of the flooding. They also have two fields that they can be rotated between, depending on the condition of one field over the other.

Smith says they are doing their best to keep the actors from looking for greener pastures. The actors live on site and camp out in the woods during the summer production, so they try to do "things like pizza parties and the Shakespeare production" to break up monotony of the seemingly endless rainy days.

"This company has been remarkable in the way that no one's walking away or getting into fights," Smith said, impressed with the way the cast and crew has endured the extra wet season, adding it might be better than enduring heat.