A Tale of Two Reopenings, With and Without the Union Label

AMERICAN THEATRE: When Actors’ Equity Association announced in late May its four guiding principles for reopening theatres, developed with the advice of former OSHA head Dr. David Michaels, it felt like live theatre was still worlds—or at least many, many months—away. With requirements like the pandemic needing to be under control in a given theatre’s region, and extensive (and accurate and speedy) testing available, bars that few areas could reasonably say they were meeting, theatres all over the U.S. have begun to push seasons back as far as the spring and summer of 2021. And that was even before the surge of cases the nation has seen over the last month, as cities have prematurely reopened and many people have ignored safety measures.