The Scioto Society's Tecumseh! remains one of the most popular outdoor dramas in the nation, but attendance has been impacted the last two years, due to rain-outs. Producer Brandon Smith said they have had two weeks of rain-outs over the past two seasons.
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"The good thing is that the finances of the Scioto Society are in pretty good shape -- there's no long-term debt; there's no construction debt or anything like that," said Smith. "But last year was not a good year: a little bit of short-term debt from last year, which we're still paying off right now, and the six rain-outs that we've had this year (have) not helped us to do that."
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Smith said due to the heat of summer months, it is impossible to conduct "make-good" shows during weekend daytime hours.
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According to Smith, safety is the number one concern that goes into deciding whether to declare a rain-out on show night.
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"We have horses on the stage, we have actors on the stage, and I have a thousand audience members in the audience, and I don't want any of those people to get hurt," said Smith. "So if there's lightning in the area, if it's starting to get muddy, and I think an actor or a horse might trip in a mud puddle, those are the things that make me go, 'You know what? We're just not going to try this tonight.'"