CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Many performing arts centers in Iowa have been temporarily shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa. Officials at Iowa State University in Ames recently announced it was closing C.Y. Stephens Auditorium indefinitely as it determines the center’s future viability.

Live concerts, Broadway shows and other performances in the Great Hall at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center are in limbo for the interim. That doesn’t mean the center has been sitting idle or shut its doors.

“Pivot — that’s what we’ve done since COVID-19 hit,” said Steve Carignan, GBPAC executive director and associate dean of outreach and special programs at the University of Northern Iowa. “Most art centers and schools of music threw up their hands, but we realized early on that we needed to pivot to stay engaged with the community. That meant being creative in coming up with ways to connect. We’ve done some stuff we’ve never done before.

“We don’t want people to get used to not having opportunities for live music, live theater and live performances,” he told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. The center also is home to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra and a resource for UNI School of Music students.

Recently, the center launched a “Local Legends” concert series from the Great Hall stage, featuring live-streamed, professionally produced shows by area bands and performers. This summer, the center’s staff collaborated with Cedar Falls Community Main Street, Hearst Center for the Arts and others to present “Movies Under the Moon” series as a drive-in at a campus parking lot.

That proved so popular that GBPAC offered ticketed date-night movies and an outdoor drive-in rock concert. “We bought a portable stage from 1959 — no kidding – and because we have the people to do it, worked on it so now it’s like new. I’m seeing us using that in the future for street and block parties — that could be a blast,” Carignan said.