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Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Theater Notebook: Despite state's lifting of indoor mask mandate, local theaters still embrace face coverings
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Although California lifted its indoor mask mandate for most locations on Feb. 16, many San Diego County theaters plan to keep their mask rules firmly in place for the time being.
3 comments:
Olivia Curry
said...
Although masks can be annoying, especially if you wear glasses & have your view of the stage blocked not by a large hat, but by your own hot breath, I do think it is the safest choice to keep the people on and off stage safe and limiting the spread of covid. The article mentions that there has not been much pushback from audiences against wearing masks, so I do not see a reason why they would lift the mandate; it seems like the benefits of masks outweigh any negatives. Requiring patrons to be vaccinated is also a great decision in my opinion; while some people may choose not to get the vaccine, they are not entitled to be able to attend entertainment events with large crowds of people. If anything I would think performers would be the first ones to want the mask mandate removed to gauge audience reaction, but I doubt many want to risk getting sick.
This article is not really, “news” to me in the sense that I don’t find it shocking. To me, it is obvious and expected that local theatres continue to embrace mask mandates, there is a huge amount of risk to them even beyond the natures of viral transmission. Obviously, on top of that huge concern of health and protecting both those in the show and those who watch from a deadly disease, there is also aspects of business that are potentially at risk of great harm. Creating a new work is undoubtedly a huge investment, emotionally, financially, and in all other aspects of the word. This motivates the huge amount of labor that is needed for a great work, and definitely makes it all worth it, but this act of bravery should not be overlooked. Small theaters are more susceptible to the harm from this, and they don’t have the capital to quickly recover from loss of staff, budget, or time.
This is not shocking or anything but it is more of an “okay, we are still doing this everyone, no one panic, thank you”. I think it is entirely fair. Ultimately masks are still the best tool there is to minimize the risk of a massive outbreak, and since there are so many people working backstage, close together in the theater, it is entirely reasonable to keep the mask mandate. I think it is more important right now for theaters to do their best in regards to making the audience feel safe. If the audience feels safe, they will come. The article even said that audiences haven’t seemed to mind the mask mandate, so it feels counterintuitive to lift it if they want it there. If we are talking about musicals, then it also makes so much more sense to ask the audience to remain masked. It is not only the actors who are often walking on stage without a mask on but a good chunk of the orchestra can’t actually wear a mask while playing their instruments.
3 comments:
Although masks can be annoying, especially if you wear glasses & have your view of the stage blocked not by a large hat, but by your own hot breath, I do think it is the safest choice to keep the people on and off stage safe and limiting the spread of covid. The article mentions that there has not been much pushback from audiences against wearing masks, so I do not see a reason why they would lift the mandate; it seems like the benefits of masks outweigh any negatives. Requiring patrons to be vaccinated is also a great decision in my opinion; while some people may choose not to get the vaccine, they are not entitled to be able to attend entertainment events with large crowds of people. If anything I would think performers would be the first ones to want the mask mandate removed to gauge audience reaction, but I doubt many want to risk getting sick.
This article is not really, “news” to me in the sense that I don’t find it shocking. To me, it is obvious and expected that local theatres continue to embrace mask mandates, there is a huge amount of risk to them even beyond the natures of viral transmission. Obviously, on top of that huge concern of health and protecting both those in the show and those who watch from a deadly disease, there is also aspects of business that are potentially at risk of great harm. Creating a new work is undoubtedly a huge investment, emotionally, financially, and in all other aspects of the word. This motivates the huge amount of labor that is needed for a great work, and definitely makes it all worth it, but this act of bravery should not be overlooked. Small theaters are more susceptible to the harm from this, and they don’t have the capital to quickly recover from loss of staff, budget, or time.
This is not shocking or anything but it is more of an “okay, we are still doing this everyone, no one panic, thank you”. I think it is entirely fair. Ultimately masks are still the best tool there is to minimize the risk of a massive outbreak, and since there are so many people working backstage, close together in the theater, it is entirely reasonable to keep the mask mandate. I think it is more important right now for theaters to do their best in regards to making the audience feel safe. If the audience feels safe, they will come. The article even said that audiences haven’t seemed to mind the mask mandate, so it feels counterintuitive to lift it if they want it there. If we are talking about musicals, then it also makes so much more sense to ask the audience to remain masked. It is not only the actors who are often walking on stage without a mask on but a good chunk of the orchestra can’t actually wear a mask while playing their instruments.
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