AMERICAN THEATRE: Shows postponed or canceled. Heated debates over ventilation systems, the “hygiene theatre” of masking, and whether the promise that everything will be back to normal in a few weeks is a fallacy.
Sound familiar? If you’ve found the last six weeks too reminiscent of March 2020, you’re not alone: Artists and arts administrators across the country have been up to their ears in discussions of budgets and grants, season calendar rearrangements, rights and royalties disputes, and other quotidian but draining tasks, thanks to the surging Omicron variant of COVID-19.
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Shows are being put on pause as the global pandemic does not seem to be coming to an end. Yes, you read that right. Just like March of two years ago (2020), the latest COVID-19 variant (omicron) has theatres juggling their priorities: pay versus safety. Controversy arises, however, as productions fail to respect production contracts and suspend production for a few months. This has unfortunately resulted in pay reduction for both cast and crew members– which while controversial, makes sense to me. I mean, if productions are not currently making money, how are producers expected to continue paying cast and crew the same wages. That being said, the lack of job security is understandably terrifying; especially if one has already booked a show and must be on standby while also potentially applying for other jobs. Nevertheless, COVID-19 poses a real threat to the public safety and well-being so pausing/suspending shows is without a doubt the appropriate move; safety outweighs pay.
With COVID appearing not to be going away anytime soon, we all must adapt and change our ways of living–and theaters must change their ways of working if they want to succeed in this changing world. It is false that Omicron is not a threat to health and safety at all, and in light of rising numbers and the perpetually increasing mortality rate, theatres must seriously consider what accommodations must be made to ensure the safety of theatre artists, all their employees, and their audiences. Some theatres require audiences to be triple-vaxxed, however, this is not possible everywhere in the United States depending on state law. Discussions of budgets, season calendar rearrangements, rights and royalties disputes, are exhausting ones to have, but theatres must think about their way forward and what they want that to look like for their company. I personally am a proponent of integrating and investing into digital theatre, however, I know many are opposed or apprehensive about digital works and whether they ‘count’ as theatre or not. Either way, theatre companies must grapple with all of these factors to find something that works in the current climate and is adaptable going forward–COVID is not going away and we must evolve to survive.
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