After the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, many theaters weren’t able to recover. The Stagecrafters Theater, located at 8130 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill, has stayed afloat, but with digital media on the rise and many traditional art forms fading from the public eye, it is fighting to regain all of its audience.

Patricia Masarachia, president of Stagecrafters, has been putting her heart and soul into the theater for more than 40 years. Her husband, Sam Masarachia, was also the acting president for many years. In 2019,  she took over as president when the previous president, Scott Killinger, fell ill. She is determined to share the theater's art with the world.

“I was appointed just at the end of 2019, so the pandemic hit immediately after, and all my new experience was used to help shepherd us through [it],” Masarachia said. “We had lots of decisions to make. Do we close for the rest of the season? When do we open? Do we try to follow the decisions that everyone else is also having to make?”

With lots of help from the vice president of production, Catherine Pappas, their board and volunteers, they started rebuilding the theater. Now, more than six years later, it’s still a work in progress.

Stagecrafters has always relied heavily on volunteers, but after losing some along with a portion of their viewers and funding, the theater faced struggles to get back on its feet. As a volunteer for over 30 years before she became president, Masarachia understands how crucial they are to local theaters and nonprofits alike.

“Our workforce didn’t come back. Our designers and a lot of our volunteers didn’t come back. Their priorities changed. They had new roles,” Masarachia said. “The things you loved before the pandemic, you don’t love them as much after the pandemic. Something has changed. So [we’ve faced] these cultural and economic shifts, and people in general are not volunteering in the whole nonprofit world [anymore].”

Through these struggles, Masarachia and her team are busy promoting their upcoming productions, with five new shows coming this season.

“We’re trying to reteach this theater experience,” she said, and they want people to know “that it’s an important activity worth doing because it is live, and you never know what’s going to happen on the stage. ... You’re feeling the responses and hearing the responses of the audience, which actually amplifies your own experience.”

Stagecrafters’ upcoming shows highlight a variety of women’s stories throughout history. They include “These Shining Lives,” “The Underpants” and “Cry It Out,” all catering to different audiences. Whether viewers want a hard-hitting drama, comedy or romance, the variety of shows this season offers vastly different experiences.

While recovering from the loss of their previous levels of viewership and revenue, Masarachia and her team are unsure what the future may hold for Stagecrafters. However, as they continue to showcase their love for the arts, they believe their hardworking cast, producers and volunteers will keep creating high-quality shows that welcome both new and returning audiences.

“It’s been very, very, very painful. ... I think we’re exhausted, physically and mentally tired, but you know, there’s that cliche: The show must go on,” Masarachia said. “So, we just want to keep this going.”

Tickets are on sale at thestagecrafters.org. “These Shining Lives,” the story of four young women who unite to expose the truth about their jobs in a radium dial factory, opens Sept. 18. “The Underpants,” a farce adapted by comedian Steve Martin, opens next, on Nov. 27, followed by three more productions in 2027.