Concert Pros Talk Ways of Ramping Up Festival Safety, Post-Astroworld

Variety: In the wake of the Astroworld tragedy, should festivals and concerts have a single person charged with the power of stopping a show if conditions grow dangerous? What greater demands will insurers be making since that Texas festival pointed up how an entertainment event can turn deadly? And where does responsibility start, or the buck end, if things go terribly wrong at a show?

When will big music fests return? It's up to us

Chicago Tribune: The last big scene of “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” Frank Marshall’s excellent documentary about the rise (and staying power) of the Bee Gees, takes place in 2017 at Britain’s colossal Glastonbury Festival. There’s good old Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of his family’s hugely successful pop group, gaining solace in his silver years as he floats on a wave of love from a live audience of, incredibly, more than 100,000 people.

Covid-safe on stage: a new frontier in costume design

Mirage News: NYU Tisch School of the Arts designers are embracing masks as part of a return to live performance Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet…through a mask? Can Romeo and Juliet fall in love if they’re always kept six feet apart?

Dana Walden: Disney TV Shows Have Less Than 1% COVID Transmission Rate

Variety: After adapting to COVID protocols last summer and fall, most of Disney’s TV productions have maintained virus transmission rates of less than 1%, making them “some of the safest places” in Los Angeles, Disney TV chief Dana Walden told a group of Harvard University undergrads on Sunday.

Can Planners Mandate Covid Vaccinations for Attendees?

www.meetingsnet.com: As the Covid-19 vaccination program rolls out over the course of 2021, meeting planners might be considering vaccination requirements for their in-person attendees. Is that legal?

Lessons in face mask design from NYU's theater department

Quartz: Every play during a pandemic is, by necessity, experimental. For the few theater companies that are attempting to hold live performances, every artistic element of staging—from set design and casting to costumes—is being reconsidered to safeguard the health of actors, stage crew, and theater-goers.

Professionally Distanced: Ensuring Employee Safety Through Remote Monitoring and Social Distancing

Occupational Health & Safety: With the focus for many businesses dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis beginning to shift to “the new normal” and returning to the workplace, workers and employers alike are asking questions about how workplaces will be made and kept safe.

What is Covid-19 compliance supervisor? Hollywood's new gig

Los Angeles Times: The pandemic has spawned a new job on Hollywood sets — the COVID-19 compliance supervisor. The role was created under an agreement last month between entertainment unions and an alliance of producers as part of the terms for Hollywood’s return to production. Already, an industry is emerging around this important position. Some companies are offering training and certification, others are providing consulting services to productions.

Glastonbury Festival May Employ "Massive Coronavirus Testing" in 2021

www.ticketnews.com: After seeing the planned 50th anniversary Glastonbury Festival pushed to next year by the coronavirus pandemic, organizers are exploring every avenue for holding the 2021 edition, including massive testing for the virus. The annual event in England is scheduled for June, but uncertainty regarding how the pandemic will impact large scale events is likely to weigh heavily on planning, both for organizers and potential attendees. Testing people before they arrive could be one road to holding the event at scale, and safely.

The Doctor Helping Dance Companies Work Together Safely

The New York Times: Bubble, part of the growing coronavirus vocabulary — the R-factor, zoonotic, sheltering in place — can be used as a noun (“My bubble with 25 other dancers”) or a verb (“Yes, 25! We were bubbling!”). Either way, bubbling has gained traction in the dance world as companies and organizations try to find ways of bringing artists together to create work in a safe environment. That involves rules, medical protocols, tests and vigilance, and it requires a presiding authority to decide what those should be.

The Flaming Lips Host Trial Run Of Bubble Show At OKC’s Criterion

Pollstar: The need for social distancing during the pandemic has led to a lot of innovation within the concert industry, from livestreaming to drive-in shows. For The Flaming Lips, individual bubbles for audience members seems like the only obvious choice.

Performing in Winter: Creating COVID-safe Super Venues and Sharing the Stage

The Theatre Times: You pass through a wide doorway to a large space with good air circulation. Inside, an usher behind a screen scans your ticket and sends you onward. Signs on the carpet direct you to the large auditorium, which is arranged in clusters of seats, one per household. In the middle of the room, the stage is set for a full orchestra. Tomorrow the same stage will be used for a theatrical production. The lights go dim; the music starts.

What Are Theatremakers Doing to Present Safe Productions?

Playbill: Six months into the COVID era, there are already multiple approaches to putting on a show without endangering performers, crew, or audiences.

A production of Godspell in New England adhered to strict Equity guidelines by submitting detailed health and safety plans. Elsewhere, Broadway artists—led by Tony-nominated director Michael Arden—went upstate to experiment with a variety of production techniques. And in the Bronx, teens at a JCC presented Rent: School Edition.

Here’s how theatre is evolving in this pandemic, proving that the show can—and will—go on.

Can laughter be lethal?: Dr. Linsey Marr on aerosol transmission of COVID

DC Metro Theater Arts: I first learned of Dr. Linsey Marr when I read a startling opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times July 30: As “a civil and environmental engineer who studies how viruses and bacteria spread through the air,” she wrote, “I believe that the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via aerosols matters much more than has been officially acknowledged to date.”

The Gateway Playhouse Sues Actor's Equity Association, Equity Says Allegations are- 'Completely Devoid of Merit'

www.broadwayworld.com: The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, Long Island's oldest professional theater, announced this week that they have filed suit against Actor's Equity Association and the union's pension and health fund on behalf of the theater and some of its' employees, after the fund demanded that Gateway pay $212,014 to the fund while also denying pension and health benefits to some of Gateway's employees.

Performing in winter: creating COVID-safe super venues and sharing the stage

theconversation.com: You pass through a wide doorway to a large space with good air circulation. Inside, an usher behind a screen scans your ticket and sends you onward. Signs on the carpet direct you to the large auditorium, which is arranged in clusters of seats, one per household. In the middle of the room, the stage is set for a full orchestra. Tomorrow the same stage will be used for a theatrical production. The lights go dim; the music starts.

Dining Services Transforms for Fall Semester

www.cmu.edu/news: The Underground is again flipping all-day pancakes. The inviting aromas of coffee and lattes and cappuccinos are filling La Prima Espresso Co. And even Dave Collins, a favorite among Tartan students, is back at his familiar register at The Exchange, catching up with everyone and anyone.

Healthy Ears Are Happy Ears

SoundGirls.org: As we grow older, hearing loss is something we will all have to deal with in one way or another. Human hearing deteriorates at different rates and severity for each of us. As members of the audio community, it is extremely important for us to keep our ears in tip-top condition for as long as possible. Here are a couple of tips to help your ears stay young and healthy.

ESSAY: What I Did For Love, And How I Plan To Do Less

rescripted.org: A strange ritual would often take place in the halls of my university’s theatre center. College students would convene before classes or rehearsals to present the hours of sleep they had claimed the night before. The student who shared the lowest number would wear this insomnia as a badge of honor. Bonus points were awarded if the time spent awake was done at the library, or in the theatre after hours. I perceived this bizarre ritual as a product of the college experience. Little did I know, the professional theatre would not be that different.

It’s Time for a New Labor Movement in the Performing Arts

Current Affairs: I’ll never forget the week I worked 128 hours—without overtime. There are, of course, only 168 hours in a week, and by the time you have worked your 128th, you no longer have professional standards, boundaries, or even much of an identity left. Me, personally? I was cackling at every provocation and blinking too often to chase away sleep. At the time, I was a concert sound engineer, lighting designer, and technical director, and I was in the process of opening a new concert venue (that must remain nameless) in New York City.