Supporting the Arts in Western Massachusetts and Beyond

May 5, 2020

In the Meantime…

Hello Readers:
It is noticeable that the arts continue, albeit in different formats, during this forced hiatus by Covid-19. The arts of nearly all genres will endure, whether resuming where they left off at the end of 2019 and/or morphing into other shapes and sounds. Neither of these results are not necessarily bad.
Selfishly, we hope that our website and Facebook fan will remember to seek out In the Spotlight reviews, previews, articles, and interviews once the world revs up, hopefully in the summer of 2020. In the meantime, In the Spotlight will post a variety of stories that are as applicable now as they were when first published.
From time to time, our writers will post. We are so thrilled that ITS writers are all sticking with us for the duration of the pandemic, and beyond. Their reason? Each has a sincere love of the performing arts, particularly the local arts.
ITS will offer up-to-date listings that the impact of the pandemic has had on your favorite venues. Some sites will temporarily close for the summer months, some will readjust their calendars to include as many programs as originally planned, and some might be relatively unscathed. I imagine that September will be jam-packed with numerous performances planned for the summer months. Please try to adjust your personal calendar to fill in as many art forms as you enjoy.
We start our look back on In the Spotlight. The history of ITS must include the history of Bravo Newspaper, Springfield, MA
The following is a reprint of an article written by Shera Cohen, co-founder of Bravo, in December 2016.

By Shera Cohen

In March 1991 Bravo Newspaper was founded, serving the local arts community as a free monthly publication. Twenty-five years later, Bravo has become In the Spotlight, a website primarily promoting the arts in Greater Springfield. We thank our many writers and other staff and thousands of readers through the years.

Equally important is formal acknowledgement to the Springfield Cultural Council for its initial grant which launched Bravo. That successful application for $6450 provided financial support, along with at least 50 grants from throughout Pioneer Valley, for the next 25 years.

Shera Cohen of Springfield, and Lauren Grossman of Longmeadow (now Arizona) ended their work for the Chicopee Centennial in December 1990. “What to do now?” Both women had theatre backgrounds. “Let’s start a theatre newspaper,” Grossman said. Cohen followed with, “I don’t even know how to use a computer.” They both learned the mechanics; the subject matter grew from theatre to all the performing and visual arts; and office space moved from Grossman’s pool table, to Cohen’s living room floor, to a tiny office with stained glass windows, to one larger office on State Street, finally to three different spaces on Main Street, with each location larger than the one before, all in downtown Springfield.

The Springfield Cultural Council grant paid for production and printing of 1,000 papers monthly with distribution only in Springfield. Cohen and Grossman were the entire “staff” of Bravo which included writing articles, selling ads, design and paste up (computers didn’t perform as they do now), and delivery. Year #2 of Bravo increased distribution city-wide and to five cities/towns; each due to receiving more grants from as many cities. A few writers and a salesperson were added to the team. At its 12-year mark, Bravo delivered boasted 50,000 readers in 48 cities with a staff of approximately 50 at its high point. 

Radio media came next, when Cohen and Grossman approached WMAS for a weekly arts program, hosted by themselves. Did either have radio experience? No. But staff at WMAS offered free air-time on its AM station on Sundays – first for 15 minutes at 6:15am, then at 6:30am when more listeners might be awake, eventually to a half-hour at 9am. Thirteen years later, the show ended with a huge thank you to five additional hosts and the many, many listeners who said, “I heard you on the radio.”

Looking toward the 21st century here, Bravo printed its last publication in 2003, at the same time morphing Bravo to In the Spotlight electronic media. Many writers from the newspaper continued with Spotlight, even those who joined in 1992. 

In the Spotlight continues as a local source of reviews, previews, interviews, and “on the road” features on community and professional performing arts in the region.