“No matter how anxious we are to get back into the theater, we must ensure the safety of all involved. This might mean a longer pause than we imagined at first.”
– Carrie Houk, executive artistic director, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
Members of a St. Louis theater task force reconvened Thursday night to continue the dialogue among local theater groups seeking guidance in navigating live performances post-pandemic.
“I think it is critical for audiences across our region to ensure that when performing arts venues re-open, they do so with a consistent set of common practices and guidelines,” said Joe Gfaller, managing director of Metro Theater Company.
Gfaller was among those attending last night’s meeting of the St. Louis Theatre Community Task Force, which was created to address a range of concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to safely conduct auditions, rehearsals and performances, as well as seat patrons, once restrictions on large public gatherings are lifted. In addition to participants from more than two dozen local theater organizations, meetings have also included local medical experts and a representative from the Actors’ Equity Association.
During the task force’s initial meeting on April 23, Dr. Stephali Wulff, an infectious disease expert and a member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, discussed a number of possible procedures theater companies could follow to mitigate the risk to public safety, including requiring masks and basic health and temperature checks for audiences, designating separate entrance and exit doors for performance venues, and providing hand sanitizer for patrons. For production cast and crew, recommendations include conducting virtual auditions and requiring masks for actors during rehearsals, as well as temperature checks to be allowed inside the building. “Ensuring that audiences and artists are safe and protected to the very best of our abilities will not be easy, but will be critical from both the perspective of public health and community confidence in the arts,” Gfaller said.
Many of the scenarios presented would require major changes to front-of-house and backstage policies, according to Gfaller, which, in turn, could significantly impact the way shows are produced, as well as the bottom line for many nonprofit theater companies like Metro.
“For instance, in the event that an actor tests positive for COVID-19 during the run of a show, it may be necessary to prohibit anyone who shares the stage with that actor from performing until they have been cleared,” he explained. “The recommendation provided to avoid business interruption is to cast multiple understudies or even double cast entire productions – which would require a very different model for rehearsals and potentially double the artistic expenses of producing a play.”
Metro Theater Company just announced its 2020-2021 season, which opens at the Grandel Theatre on Oct. 25 with “Digging Up Dessa.”
“I am grateful that our partners at Kranzberg Arts Foundation have done much of the initial planning to ensure that our venue can take every possible precaution to protect audiences. But, no matter what, social distancing will prevent us from welcoming as many people into our theater as we have been accustomed to in the past,” Gfaller noted, adding that less ticket sales mean pivoting to new business models, such as digital distribution. “In negotiating the rights for our first mainstage show, “Digging Up Dessa,” we have incorporated digital streaming rights so that audience members who can’t attend in person still have the opportunity to experience the play in a pay-per-view, pay-what-you-can environment.”
The pandemic has forced many local theater groups to cancel, delay or modify entire seasons, including Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (TWSTL). The company was supposed to have opened its fifth annual festival, themed “Tennessee Williams & Italy,” this week. Instead, it will be presented as part of its sixth annual programming in May 2021.
“At this time, the more informed we are, the better,” said Carrie Houk, executive artistic director of TWSTL. “The current situation is like no other we have experienced in our lifetimes, and it is important that we know how to navigate this storm safely and responsibly. No matter how anxious we are to get back into the theater, we must ensure the safety of all involved. This might mean a longer pause than we imagined at first.”
While the “Tennessee Williams & Italy” programming, due to its scope, would have been too daunting to produce this season with the challenges presented by pandemic restrictions, Houk and her team have announced plans to present a modified fifth season with “Tennessee Williams: Something Wild,” which will be presented Oct. 22 to Nov. 1 at The Link Auditorium this fall.
“Because we are focusing on safety first and foremost, we have adjusted the size of the shows we are producing and drastically limiting the number of seats so that the audience can be safely spaced,” she noted. “That said, we will produce the same high-quality work that we have in the past. I think that artists’ creative juices are stronger than ever as we navigate through the new set of guidelines that we will need to employ.”
Houk added that in some ways, the pause has been valuable, giving artists time to rethink the way they’ve worked in the past.
“As a producer of Tennessee Williams’ work, I want to give primary focus to the plays – the words – and how my troupe of artists can bring these beautiful works to an audience by taking perhaps a simpler approach. Artists are a resilient lot. We will get through this! As Tennessee Williams would say, ‘En avant!’”
