Behind the Curtain: An Exclusive Look Inside SPAC at 60

What does it take to bring one of the country's most iconic performing arts venues to life?

In this episode of Off Track Saratoga, Noel and Zac get an exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Joined by SPAC President Chris Shiley, we go backstage to explore the remarkable history, traditions, and future of one of Saratoga Springs' most beloved landmarks.

You'll get an inside look at:

🎭 The massive three-day New York City Ballet load-in

🎼 How SPAC transforms from ballet to rock concerts and back again

🎻 The original 1966 dressing rooms, orchestra pit, and backstage spaces

🌲 Why performing in the heart of Saratoga Spa State Park makes SPAC unlike any other venue

🎆 Family-friendly summer traditions, from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Tchaikovsky Spectacular to live orchestra movie nights

🎤 What it takes to preserve SPAC's rich history while preparing for the next 60 years

Whether you've spent countless summer nights on the lawn or have always wondered what happens behind the curtain, this episode offers a rare look at the people, planning, and passion that make SPAC one of Saratoga's most treasured institutions.

Plus, Noel steps onto the legendary stage and takes listeners into areas that few members of the public ever get to see.

New episodes of Off Track Saratoga drop every Tuesday.

Transcript

Noel 0:00

Guys, we're backstage at SPAC. Like I'm an artist. Kind of. Not really. Alright, let's go. Ooh. I'm Emmy Award-winning journalist Noel McLaren.

Zac 0:09

And I'm local business owner Zac Denham. And this is Off-Track Saratoga Podcast.

Noel 0:14

Sometimes we're on track.

Zac 0:15

Sometimes we're a little off.

Noel 0:17

But it's always worth the listen.

Zac 0:20

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Off-Track Saratoga Podcast.

Noel 0:25

We are back and we've got a really cool episode. This is kind of something I've been really looking forward to doing is giving us a behind the scenes tour of one of Saratoga's summer hot spots. When we think of Saratoga summers, we think of the track, downtown, and SPAC, honey. SPAC, right? So I'm gonna take you to the back.

Zac 0:46

Yep. SPAC. I see what you did there. Yeah, that was good. Put that on a t-shirt.

Noel 0:52

Do it. What's really cool about SPAC is this year they're celebrating 60 years. 60 years in that space. And that space is so timeless. They see everything from classical music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the ballet, which I'm gonna take everybody behind the scenes to the load-in of the ballet, which Zach couldn't make it.

Zac 1:14

It's an exclusive uh that we couldn't we couldn't resist. So I'm excited to share it with everybody. And even the live nation tours, too. Absolutely.

Noel 1:23

Current artists, too. It was so cool. So um, Zach, the view from standing on the stage looking out into the audience. Have you ever done that at SPAG?

Zac 1:34

No, not at SPAG.

Noel 1:36

I don't think anybody really gets that opportunity. They rarely let you see behind the curtain, if you will. It was so it's just you see why this place has become a space that everybody wants to go to and everyone wants to check out. So come along with me. Let's get into it. Let's get into it. All right, everybody, we are at Saratoga's front porch, the Pines at SPAC, a beautiful terrace here. I'm joined by Chris Shiley, who is the president of SPAC. What a beautiful location. Thank you for having us here.

Chris 2:04

Thank you so much. Thanks for coming by.

Noel 2:06

We're here to talk about SPAC season, and you gave us a little bit of a backstage tour that I cannot wait to share with all of you.

Chris 2:13

That's right. Yeah, you got to see some behind the scenes of the New York City Ballet Load in. Uh, very exciting day for us. But we're here celebrating 60 years of SPAC, um, beginning with the New York City Ballet residency. Uh, we've already had a great summer, a lot of wonderful shows from our partners at Live Nation. Um, our jazz festival just finished. Um, and really we're celebrating all summer long 60 years of this incredible venue, 60 years of a tremendous legacy uh that SPAC has left on the performing arts, both both in the capital region and really nationally. Um and we're just excited to uh to celebrate that all season long and to bring back the New York City Ballet, who've been at the cornerstone of that 60 years. Um, you know, the venue was founded by uh George Balanchine of the New York City Ballet, and uh and later on in the summer, we'll welcome the Philadelphia Orchestra as well. And the co-founder of the venue with George Balanchine was Eugene Normandy of the Philadelphia Orchestra. So having those two residencies perform here and getting closer and closer to the start of their performances is really special as we celebrate 60 years of SPAC.

Noel 3:08

60 years is a really special number. It's a long time. A lot has changed in the span of 60 years, locally, nationally. A lot has not changed though, and that's kind of what makes this place so special. Do you want to speak to both ends of that?

Chris 3:20

Yeah, I mean, this place has certainly evolved and transformed in so many ways. I mean, we're sitting here on a beautiful terrace overlooking the amphitheater. None of this existed 60 years ago. Um, and I think over the years, we've been able to make a lot of wonderful improvements with partnerships from New York State Parks, from Live Nation. Um, everyone uh really loves this venue. They love what it stands for, they love um kind of at its core the celebration of tradition that exists here. And uh and everyone is excited to kind of continue to usher that forward year after year. So um I think we retain a lot of that charm and a lot of that history in the performances while making strategic upgrades to make it a more welcoming and inviting space for all.

Noel 3:59

We were just talking about walking up here to the pines, about the globes, the lights, and how you know style kind of comes and goes and is cyclical, but that kind of has stayed as like an icon walking into the venue. I mean, how do you, even though style changes, decide to keep certain things and kind of like stand your ground with keeping those things and keeping with those traditions?

Chris 4:21

Yeah, I mean, it's all about retaining that charm and that and that piece of spec that means so much to folks. I mean, you can see the facade behind us is always just this iconic view, uh, looking down across the bowl, the lawn, into the venue. I mean, that's never gonna change. And those globes, as you said, are part of our sort of signature look. Uh-huh. Um, and we don't want to uh ever change those. Um, at the same time, we have to find ways to balance some of the upgrades we have made to make them feel intentional. I think with this Pines building, we've built something that feels like it's part of the facility, feels like it's part of the grounds. A lot of people came uh when we built this building and saw it for the first time and said, wait, was that always there? And I took that as a big compliment because it felt like it was a part of it. You know, it didn't feel like it was some brand new obvious thing. It felt like it had always been there, and I think that's important as we make these types of upgrades.

Noel 5:04

What season is the Pines in?

Chris 5:05

This is our sixth year. It was finished in 2020, just in time for the pandemic and COVID-19 year. Uh perfect time to open a new building. Um, but no, it's been amazing. It's been transformative to have this space uh in addition to the way it's kind of opened up the campus in so many ways, and we have this large field behind you we call the football field, uh, because it looks like a large football field. Um and that used to be very closed off in the old layout of the venue, and now it's very opened up, and we have been able to, you know, see families and and and kids go out and kind of run around in that as part of the experience. Um and so I think it's just been a really transformative uh change.

Noel 5:39

Well, and I think that's kind of just part of Saratoga's summer is SPAC. When you think of a Saratoga summer, you think of the track, you think of Broadway, and you think of SPAC. So you guys really are a huge part of people's summers. I mean, you're part of graduation ceremonies here for the local families. How does that feel to be such an integral part of summer here in Saratoga?

Chris 6:04

I mean, it's a great privilege and it's also a great responsibility. It's something that we take seriously. We understand where this venue fits into so many people's lives and the traditions that they have each and every summer. Um, and we want to do everything we can to retain those traditions while also always looking forward for what's next, bringing in new audiences, welcoming new individuals to the space, uh, while retaining again at our core kind of what makes made SPAC so special over these last 60 years.

Noel 6:29

Talking about that balance, right? So we have these classical shows and productions that have always been part of SPAC, which is what SPAC was built around the ballet, the orchestra, the jazz festival. And then you have these live nation shows coming in as well. Newer artists, popular artists. Um, you know, how do you go from one type of production and then transition almost seamlessly to a live nation show, which is a whole different animal?

Chris 6:58

Yeah, it's a tremendous amount of work. Um, and there are incredible uh individuals on both sides, but on the SPAC side and the live nation side that work very closely together to make all that happen. Um, but I think when you zoom out from the public perspective and you can see the variety of programming that's available. I mean, where else can you uh, you know, on one hand, watch Midsummer Night's Dream and see some new ballets by Tyler Peck and see Repertoire by George Balanchine, and then the very next day see Dave Matthews band and then maybe see Lil Wayne and then go back to the Philadelphia Orchestra. I mean, it's just an incredible variety. There is truly something for everyone, and there's also a lot to experience, even if you're not familiar with it. Um, and so I always enjoy those moments as well when people come out and they try something new because SPAC has so much to offer across across our entire summer.

Noel 7:44

Right. And not to mention you're in the middle of a state park as well, which is a whole other, you know, thing that not a lot of performing performance venues have. You can leave here and hike. You walk over the bridges to get in here at the box office, and you're walking over a beautiful creek and beautiful, beautiful springs and woodlands. That's something very unique that not a lot of people have.

Chris 8:04

I think it's one of the things that separates us more than almost anything else is just our setting in nature. This this gorgeous 2,400-acre spa state park, geysers, mineral springs, hiking trails. It is just absolutely beautiful. Um, and to be able to share art and to be able to have um shared experiences through the arts in a space like that, I think is just a really remarkable um experience for anyone that can come out and experience it.

Noel 8:28

So this is a big place for families in the summer. And I've got two little boys who are just chomping at the bit to get here and experience performances, the park, they they run around like little wild banshees in the park all the time at the springs. But I kind of want to get them some culture and I want to bring them, and I'm excited to show them everything SPAC has to offer, especially as they get a little bit older, they're eight and five. So, what are some exciting things this summer on the Docket for Families?

Chris 8:52

Yeah, we have a lot of wonderful family programs, particularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra residency. They'll be coming in August 5th through the 22nd. Uh, they do 12 shows, 12 completely different programs over the course of those three weeks, which is a lot of programming. It's a very robust schedule. Um, and uh, and we have a lot of offerings for uh individuals of all ages uh over the course of that week. We open on August 5th. Our opening night has become a long-sane tradition, our Tchaikovsky Spectacular. It's the 1812 Overture, which everybody knows is iconic. We we close the evening with fireworks. We have live cannons to go along with the 1812 overture. Um, there's tons of kids, tons of families. It's a family night, so we have a lot of activations on the grounds. There's free steward's ice cream, which always Oh, you had my younger guy at Free Stuart's Ice. We get most, we get most uh of them at Free Stuart's Ice Cream, if there's ever any doubt. So uh that's always a really great night for families. Later on in the season, we have a couple of movie nights that we're offering as well. Um, these are incredible experiences.

Noel 9:47

You sit in the in the stand in the uh audience, in the auditorium, and you can watch movies on the street.

Chris 9:53

We bring in a huge LED screen, uh 48 feet wide. It's absolutely massive, and we'll show Harry Potter on the seventh of the of the eight Harry Potter films. We've been doing this for the last number of years. And the Philadelphia Orchestra plays the score live to the to the film. That's incredible. And it's just it's astounding. It's an incredible experience. They sound unbelievable. Yeah, um, they're one of the only orchestras that can that can pull it off uh in such a in such an incredible way. Um so we'll have Harry Potter 7, and then we'll also have Star Wars A New Hope uh later on uh in the season as well. So two iconic films to to enjoy, and when you have that live orchestra backing them up, it's just uh an amazing experience.

Noel 10:26

Yeah, you can like feel it really in your bones, that that music, that score, which is an incredible score. For those who don't understand, SPAC and Live Nation are two separate entities. How does that relationship kind of work? It's been a long-standing relationship at this point. Um, but as I understand it, SPAC kind of is renting out their space in a way to Live Nation and their performances, and and how do you have that good working relationship?

Chris 10:51

We've been fortunate, we've developed that relationship over more than 20 years. Uh, it's an incredible partnership between us and Live Nation. Live Nation is, of course, a uh very large national, uh international company and a leader really in live performance on the pop and rock side. So having that partnership is incredibly important to us. Um, and some of the artists that we are able to present here is directly the result of that partnership. Yeah. Um at the same time, yeah, we are our own organization. We are a nonprofit, we are a 501c3. We are here to bring cultural arts to the region. Um, and it's something that we take very seriously by continuing our traditions with New York City Ballet, by having our three weeks of the Philadelphia Orchestra, um, and also expanding into the year-round programming that we do. We opened a school of the arts at the at the entrance to the park, um, focused on arts discovery, music theater, and dance, and and giving uh giving individuals of of all levels and all backgrounds the opportunity to experience the power of the arts. We're working on a major renovation of the Spa Little Theater, um, which will give us a true year-round home for performances and allow us to really build bridges between what we do in the summer with New York City Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra, in as well as uh kind of building bridges year-round and keeping those connections to the community in a year-round way. Um, so there's a lot of exciting things on our side, on the presenting side, and it's very important that we always have a collaborative and close working relationship with our friends at Live Nation as well to make this venue really uh as special and as robust as it is.

Noel 12:10

We talked about the last 60 years and the rich history that SPAC has, uh, celebrating this year's 60 years here at SPAC. What does the future of SPAC look like from here on out?

Chris 12:21

I think the future of, I love this question. I love to think about the future. I love to think about what lies ahead. Um I think we we often we need to always acknowledge the past. We need to always acknowledge what has been, and we will always uh honor those traditions, but we also have to think about what lies ahead and what what lies in front of us. I think the future for us as an organization is really creating that year-round ecosystem for cultural programming in the capital region, um, connecting a bridge between our amphitheater programming in the summer with our spot little theater programming in the year-round, as well as over to our school of the arts where individuals are experiencing art maybe for the first time. And I think those three areas all work together and create an ecosystem that kind of helps support and grow future audiences. We have to build new audiences for our programming, and that's something we're very focused on. And of course, we're gonna maintain a strong working relationship and partnership with Live Nation and gonna continue to bring, you know, the biggest names in the entertainment industry to this venue. It's it's an iconic space, it's a space that they want to be performing in. Right. Um, so many artists on the on the Live Nation side comment on how much they love being here because it is such a unique space and such a unique venue, and we want to celebrate that. We want to give them the opportunity to do as much of that as they can while making sure that we hold on and do our programming and our uh you know our commitment as an organization to the cultural programming within the region.

Noel 13:36

To its roots, which is where SPAC came from.

Chris 13:38

Exactly.

Noel 13:39

Awesome. Um, so you had a really cool opportunity for us here at Off Track Saratoka Podcast. We are going to get a backstage look at one of possibly the most complex load-ins of this venue, right? You're going to show us how the ballet loaded it. By the time this airs, the ballet will have come and gone. However, we wanted to give you a little look behind the scenes at how the whole load-in process goes for pretty much many or any production here, but the ballet is probably one of the more complex ones.

Chris 14:12

It is. It is, it is uh certainly one of our most complex productions that we present all year long. You know, people think about the large live nation shows, which are very complex, but the New York City Ballet and all the moving pieces that go into those productions, you're gonna you're gonna see a little bit more of that in just a second, but it is just incredibly complex to bring all that together. So it's a perfect opportunity for you to take a little behind-the-scenes walk and see what's going on back there. I can't wait, let's go. Welcome. Thrilled to have you. It's uh one of our most exciting days when New York City Ballet starts loading in for their performances. All right. A lot of activity and lots to see. So let's head backstage.

Noel 14:42

And this is like one of the biggest load ins you guys manage here at SPAC. Is that correct?

Chris 14:47

It is. It's it takes uh it takes more than three days of load-in time. Uh they have six uh trucks that they bring, uh tons of lighting equipment, tons of costumes, set pieces, drops. It's just so much complexity that goes into these performances each and every year. And so it is always one of the most complicated uh productions that we load in. I say it's kind of like its own ballet, its own choreography, just to kind of move all the pieces around and get everything. Just keeping with the band. Yeah, in place, exactly, on brand.

Noel 15:14

So more so than some of these big rock concerts and live nation shows as well, you were saying.

Chris 15:19

Yeah, on par with some of the largest live nation rock shows that we'll do. I think folks don't always see that because when you're looking at the um at the stage during the production, it doesn't have quite the same like you know, visibility to the lighting. Yeah, exactly. But uh the complexity on these shows is is astounding. So and you can really see it during the load-in process.

Noel 15:36

I can't wait to see. Let's go take a look. All right.

Chris 15:46

So one of the trickiest parts is being able to talk while not being in the way.

Noel 15:49

So it's back, teach it's back. Like I'm an artist. All right, let's go.

Chris 15:55

Let's say we'll carve this corner out, right?

Noel 15:57

Look at this view right here. Has anybody ever seen anything like that? This is what the performers see. Outrageous, unreal. So, what are they doing right now, Chris?

Chris 16:09

So, right now they're uh working on the flooring. Uh, we do about 5,000 square feet of sprung floor that we lay down on top of our existing stage floor for the New York City Ballet, which is really important for the dancers, especially on point, to have that springiness in the floor. Right. So they've laid a lot of that flooring down, and then there's a piece of marley. Uh it's kind of like a textured surface that goes on top of that flooring, and that's what they're laying down right now, while they're also working on some electrical lights and things that are gonna be hanging in the air. Um, and then actually one of the other unique things, this right here that I'm knocking on is the uh acoustical shell for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which lives on stage permanently, but actually some ceiling pieces you can see in the air uh as well for the Philadelphia Orchestra uh shell that are always up there.

Noel 16:52

Where are we going now?

Chris 16:53

We're going down the main hallway back to where the dressing rooms are and the artist spaces. New York City Ballet, as I said, one of our largest productions. You can see with all the cases, they take every ounce of space that we have uh gets filled. Um this venue in the backstage area was really designed uh in partnership with George Balanchine directly of the New York City Ballet when it was built in 1966. And so a lot of the design elements are very carefully done to accommodate the ballet's uh needs and size to make it easy for them to do their productions. One, we'll take a little detour. Uh one such space is in here. This is our large rehearsal room. Um a unique space. It's you know, for a lot of our shows, it's storage and it's um, you know, extra extra workspace. But for the New York City Ballet, we clear it out and we set up the ballet bars. This becomes one of their primary rehearsal uh and warm-up spaces. Um it was designed to be uh to very much mimic the size of the main stage so that whether they were indoors or outdoors, they had the same amount of danceable space. Again, just adapting the space for New York City Ballet while all of our other shows are coming in and out as well.

Noel 17:56

Nice. So yeah.

Chris 17:57

And then down this way.

Noel 17:59

Oh, I see some sparkly things. Yes. Ooh.

Zac 18:03

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Chris 18:38

We've got all the wonderful costumes for the children that will perform as part of Midsummer Night's Dream. So we have 26 local children performing.

Noel 18:46

So if you're listening to our podcast right now, it would be a great time to remind you that we are now on YouTube so you can see and feel like you're part of this entire behind-the-scenes look at SPAC. Right now we're looking down on the SPAC stage from way up in the fly where lighting and curtains are rigged. What a view, a different perspective of such a familiar stage. Alright, so what do we got here?

Chris 19:09

So we're in one of our large dressing rooms. This is up on the second floor backstage. Um, this is where uh the core ballet uh will come and uh do a lot of their makeup and prepare for the performance. Um we will have a large number of dancers in this dressing room, and we have these individual makeup mirror stations. These stations that you see centered here are actually original to the venue. They were built in 1966.

Noel 19:29

Oh, okay. So like original, original.

Chris 19:32

Original, original, original. You can see the updated models over here. Uh-huh. Um, more individual, but these uh these were original, you can tell by the light switch and the wiring. Um we've we maintained them all these years, and it's always special to see them uh put put out and set up for for the New York City Bellet.

Noel 19:46

Can I flick it on?

Chris 19:48

Yeah, you can try it.

Noel 19:50

I can try it. Okay, let's see.

Chris 19:51

There we go.

Noel 19:52

Okay, cool.

Chris 19:53

Still works.

Noel 19:55

That's a good thing. Oh, and is this so they can see, is that a monitor so they can see the stage?

Chris 20:00

Yep, yeah. In recent years we've we've made some changes. We renovated the downstairs, uh, so it's a different vibe, but up here, uh, it's still um very much uh the original design of the venue. So we've added monitors so that they're able to see what's happening on the stage. They can get called to the stage.

Noel 20:14

Put their makeup on and say, oh, it's almost time to go up.

Chris 20:16

Exactly. There's a paging system as well that will go throughout the venue. So when they will say, you know, five minutes to and then dancers will know they need to get downstairs and get ready to go on stage.

Noel 20:24

Nice.

Chris 20:25

Yeah?

Noel 20:25

Cool.

Chris 20:26

All right, welcome to the pit. So, yeah, this is the pit. Like if you've ever come for a pop and rock show with Live Nation or even some of our Philadelphia orkshire performances, you might have sat in this pit, which is at usually at stage level. So for the New York City Ballet, when they come in, we remove the floor, we lower the pit down, and then we relay the floor down in this position. So it comes down about six to eight feet. Um, and then we put in all the chairs for the uh more than 60 musicians for the New York City Ballet Orchestra.

Noel 20:50

So we're on an elevator right now, a giant elevator.

Chris 20:52

Well, I wish it was an elevator because I wish it was motorized. But in uh in 1966, it was not motorized. No way. And it's still the original pit. So it is a manual process where each of these exactly each of these flooring pieces are lifted up. Wow. Um, removed, you lower them back down once you move the the flooring down to its lowered position. So it is a manual process. I do wish we had an elevator version, but uh but it still works great. Yeah, and it's it certainly feels uh in keeping with the uh with the original intent of the venue.

Noel 21:21

Do you guys just like come to work here every day and think it's the coolest thing ever? I mean, what is it like to come to work here every single day?

Chris 21:30

I it it is it is uh, you know, I'm not gonna lie, it's a stressful job. There's a lot of things going on, a lot of moving pieces. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But it is amazing. I mean, it's one of the most unique venues, one of the most unique places. Um, I think, I think, really across the country, uh, the balance of nature and the beauty of everything that's around us, the beauty of this venue, the quality of the companies and the art that perform here. Really? Uh it's it's astounding. So it's very special.

Noel 21:53

Thank you so much, Chris. That was a cool experience. I hope you all enjoyed getting a look around SPAC that you've never seen before. I mean, you see this every day, but to everybody else, this is a unique experience.

Chris 22:04

Well, it was it was our pleasure. Thank you so much for coming by. I'm glad you got to see it. It's always great to see it through through new eyes and fresh eyes. And uh and uh it's like I said, a very exciting time for us to be loading in the New York City ballet and beginning our classical season for the 60th anniversary.

Noel 22:16

Through the eyes of a performer, if you will.

Chris 22:18

That's right.

Noel 22:19

Ooh.

Zac 22:20

Noelle, that was really riveting.

Noel 22:24

It actually was. Stop it.

Zac 22:27

Okay, no, I'm serious. Uh like I we're talking FOMO here. Like that, I that is such a cool um thing that I'm glad we're able to share with everybody.

Noel 22:38

Zach had to do restaurant things because summer in Saratoga, but I mean, it was just, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Zac 22:44

And no, so thank you to all of our friends at SPAC for allowing us the opportunity to get in there and see what happens behind the scenes.

Noel 22:53

Yeah, it was it was awesome. And just to see how much work, how much time, how much love um goes into this place.

Zac 23:01

Here's to the next 60 years of SPAC.

Noel 23:03

Yes. Congratulations.

Zac 23:05

Thanks for tuning in this week. We hope you like, subscribe, tag, download. What else?

Noel 23:14

You can also listen to us on YouTube now. I I don't know if that's I mean, we've been saying this totally everywhere, but this was a kind of a cool this this episode kind of forced me to put us on YouTube because it was so visual. So if you're listening to the podcast and you want another visual approach, if you want to get a look at it.

Zac 23:35

Baddy yaddy, yaddy, yadda, yaddy, yaddy. You know who you want, Sarah. Oh yeah. So thank you for uh for tuning in and we will see you next week on Off Track Sarah Togepond.

Noel 23:46

Bye, Bye, sweetie. You have your like Virginia sons type of the biggest thing.