Friday, November 19, 2021
Live Performers Find Red State Rules a Tough Act to Follow
Kaiser Health News: There was something a little different on stage at a recent performance of the musical “Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree,” the first production for the Missoula Community Theatre since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Y'know, COVID regulations are tough to implement and deal with even when there are no state laws making things difficult, but the fact that multiple theaters are barred outright from mandating vaccines or masks is rather infuriating, especially knowing that the safety protocols that they then have to go to directly cut into their audience count and actor/audience safety. I'm glad but also worried to hear about the theaters in Sarasota. The fact that they could get fined is scary for some of these theaters, and also the fact that some people had the audacity to report their safety requirements?
I appreciate the article highlighting the ability of big performers to pick and choose their locations according to safety protocol, while noting that small performers don't have the choice, and have to perform where they are no matter the safety risk if they want to keep their livelihood. The fact that some artists cancel whole shows due to their being a vaccine requirement (I think Eric Clapton did that) is ridiculous too.
Yikes. The politicization of public health emergencies is obviously old news by now, but is still really frustrating when venues and artists are not just given the choice on what safety procedures to take, but being actively prevented from taking the safer, more restrictive ones. This just seems to go directly in the face of common sense. I’ve been to multiple live events this year, I worked in person unmasked this summer, I work a job involving unmasked children, and the reason I feel safe doing so is because I have taken my own precautions and I can trust in the people around me to be taking precautions. (With a few exceptions, in which case I take additional care in dealing with those people). If I would not want to go to a performance where the audience would be unmasked and there was no proof of vaccination or testing required, because I would no longer trust the people around me, and the fact that places are mandating that posture just seems insane.
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