She left that position a year ago and spent the past year doing freelance work from her home office writing web copy for arts organizations. She joined with her husband, a graphic arts designer, on some of those projects.
Schiller has a degree in theater from the University of West Florida and a Master of Fine Arts in directing from the University of Hawaii as well as a certification in arts administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Prior to that Fairfield job, Schiller spent six years as the managing director of the Pensacola Little Theater in Florida.
She recently took part in an online conference at which one of the speakers was epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci. She said Fauci spoke about when things will be able to fully reopen and how it looks for the 2021-22 arts season.
“If things go well with the vaccine, we may begin to see a return to performances in mid- to late-fall,” Schiller said. “Now, the staff and board are discussing plans. We want to get back to the point where people can explore the building. We need to be careful about what the community will bear. I try to look positively toward the fall when we can have our Second Friday concerts and OxACT.”
Regardless of how all that plays out and what the return to normal looks like, Schiller said some vestiges of the pandemic will remain and she sees that as a positive.
“Virtual will remain a component of what we do. We want to be sure we are accessible to the entire community in the new normal, livestreaming things we want to present to the public,” she said.
While group activities have been shut down due to the pandemic, Schiller reminds residents the building, at 10 South College Avenue, is open for people to visit and view art work displayed on the walls and other things people do on their own, while keeping social distance and wearing masks. The Art Shop is closed for regular hours, but anyone interested in shopping can do so by appointment.
The outdoor display put up in conjunction with the city’s holiday light display will remain up through March, although it had originally been planned to end this past week.
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