Friday, May 01, 2020
Mass Theater Plans Summer Opening on Checkerboard Seating Chart
www.ticketnews.com: While numerous events have postponed or outright cancelled entirely for the coming months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one Massachusetts theater operation has a plan to open this summer – albeit in much different style than it is used to. The Barrington Stage Company, based in Pittsfield, has implemented a social distancing-friendly game plan that it believes will allow it to operate beginning in August.
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I really don’t like this concept of opening large gathering spaces back up. I think it is important for businesses and other minimal interaction spaces to begin reopening but adjusted for social distancing soon, however, I don’t think that having any number of people sitting in a theatre for a few hours together is the best idea. I also appreciate the shoutout to Missouri in this article as someone from the St. Louis area I can speak on how the city and state have been handling everything. Missouri was actually one of the last states to announce a stay at home order. St. Louis announced theirs about a week after Illinois did, but the entire state of Missouri did not go on “lockdown” for about another two and a half weeks. Despite this, Missouri has only around 7,500 cases. Yes, that is still a lot, but the fact that Cook County alone, where Chicago is in Illinois, has almost 39,000 cases makes Missouri look small. Yes, there is a difference between a major city such as Chicago and an entire state, but similar nonetheless. I actually am in Missouri as I am writing this, and while the state doesn’t open for another 3 days officially, businesses are opening up for this weekend because really what difference is 3 days going to make. Regardless of whether opening the country up right now or in August is a good idea, I don’t see how large gathering spaces such as theatres can think about doing that right now even with social distancing efforts.
I don’t know if this is the right decision or not (because I can’t predict the future nor am I a medical professional), but I think there’s definitely some new, interesting social distancing ideas at play that I hadn’t thought of before. In particular, the ideas of no intermission or matinees, and social distanced blocking are obvious precautions that would need to be put in place. However, I do still wonder about multiple patrons touching door handles, or hand rails or elevator buttons. It’s a clever idea on paper, but I genuinely do wonder what would happen when actually implemented, keeping human nature in mind. I keep hearing more and more about smaller theaters keeping August season openings, which gives me hope for the industry. It goes without saying that by no means will production be back to normal in the fall, but hopefully as people continue to be thoughtful in approaching opening, that at least it might be back.
Hmm. I don't know. I really am not comfortable wearing a mask as it is because it can have a serious impact on my breathing. I wear one as required when I am out running errands and such but would not quickly want to go to the Barrington if given the chance based on these guidelines. Theatre is supposed to be an intimate journey between the text of the script and the audience as portrayed by the actors. You lose that when you start doing things to a play, like forced social distancing. You lose the ability for the actors to really get into the play with each other and that in turn breaks that intimate relationship with the audience. I fully understand the need to get back into things. During this time of COVID, I've missed being able to build sets and participate in the creation of a work for an audience, but what Barrington wants to do seems to me to be pushing it. Yes, this could be a huge success but it could also be a huge disaster, especially if this new experiment leaves the audience wanting to stay home.
I think that though these practices sound like they will be helpful on paper, I really don't think that this is a good idea. Living in New England, I have seen first hand that people here have been a bit careless about social distancing. My home state is allowing many services to open up next week and I can only hope that this won't start another boom in the number of cases. There is something about opening up theaters and similar services that makes me really worried about how people are thinking about our situation right now. The curve hasn't flattened to the point that we can assume herd immunity, but people are treating it like the situation is in decline. Massachusetts would actually be the last place I would expect to read about considering this practice because of the current state in Boston. Though I do want to support theater in this difficult time, I think that this is too soon.
Oof- I don’t know how I feel about this. As much as I would love to go out into the world and see shows and what not, I don’t think it’s that simple. Even when a vaccine comes out, it doesn’t mean that everything will just snap back to normal. It’s going to take a really long time for everything to truly level out before everyone is completely safe again. Wearing a mask and gloves can only do so much and a lot of people don’t even practice social distancing whatsoever, I don’t think that we can just trust people based on their words. I know some beaches in Florida and California have opened up, which I don’t agree with either. If local restaurants and other establishments are close I don’t see why a theatre should open back up either especially since it entails hundreds of people sitting very close together for long periods of time.
I do feel hopeful reading this, but it's just too early. I don't want to be negative at all. But, it's just not time yet. I understand that people are losing profits and it's time for them to start making plans, but I say we're better safe than sorry. I think theaters should spend their time trying to develop online solutions to this shutdown, rather than rushing to get everyone back in theaters as soon as possible. I know this doesn't reference my area, but with the state of Fort Lauderdale, I would feel very uncomfortable if any local theater announced things like this. It makes me really nervous that people aren't taking quarantine seriously and I think plans like this just enable people who already underestimate the problem. I think this whole thing can be more about convincing people that social distancing is important than it is about anything else. I wish these plans could be a reality at this point, but it's just not realistic for us right now. Hopefully, not too far into the future we can start implementing these things, but we cannot just decide that we want the pandemic to be over so it is.
Hmm this is certainly a unique way of doing theater. I am definitely not against it because I understand Barrington’s need to have a season in order to have some income and to stay sane. However, I am curious to see how Barrington Stage will make sure that they open safely and take all of the necessary precautions. I know that they said they will utilize a checkerboard pattern seating arrangement, but how will the actors and crew stay safe? The actors won't be able to wear masks onstage or maybe they will...And I’m not sure how many people will be interested in going out to see live theater that soon or if they will be willing to wear a mask for a couple of hours, but who knows. I hope for their sake that it works out to open in August especially since so many other theaters have had to close for the summer.
This was very encouraging to read. It really seems like we are reaching the peak of the Covid pandemic, and it is evident that everyone and everything is readying to restart when the world begins to go back to normal. It is interesting to see how different places and businesses are coping with the pandemic and planning for their return. Personally, I think the idea of checkerboard seating is excellent. Although capacity is slashed by over sixty percent, the theatre being open and holding performances is better than the alternative of being closed. It will be incredibly hard for these businesses to stay afloat, especially theatres, so anything will help right now. By reopening the theatre for performances, even if it is only at thirty percent capacity, it will allow for income to finally start floating into the theatre once again and give them an opportunity to regain their bearings before everything goes back to normal. That being said, maybe there will be a new normal! A new world with new restrictions! Perhaps we will all have to wear masks in confined spaces like theatres. It is hard to tell what the future holds.
As many people are commenting above, I also don’t know whether this is the right decision thinking medically, morally, and economically. I believe people who are strongly against this plan is thinking in terms of the risk of infections. That definitely is a point. However, it is also true that longer people are cooped up, more people would have to risk their lives economically. Theatres would have to open up soon in order to stay active after the pandemic. To be honest, there is nothing for theatres to do in a current situation, other than waiting. One solution I can think of to at least brighten the future is to set a guideline about what theatres must achieve to reopen. Each theatre reopening according to their own criteria lacks in trust. Needless to say, the reality is that the government also doesn’t know what would be the line to keep everyone perfectly safe, but I hope the government will make some kind of response to the theatre industry as soon as possible.
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