Local Theater Issues

As I met for the first time in months with some other local theater participants, we got to talking about what might be the problems in re-opening. The biggest issue, we decided, was space.

It's assumed that, when local community theaters re-open, they will be dealing with certain restrictions. First and foremost will be limited capacity and social distancing for audiences. While this will mean a reduction in revenue, it is not a physical problem. But the bigger problem will be space for casts and staff. Most of the theaters have very small backstage areas (in one I'm familiar with, having more than four people waiting to go on was a squeeze under normal circumstances). If the cast and crew have to social distance (even if the space between is reduced to three feet), it means a cast and crew of more than about eight people is probably impossible.

Dressing room and "green room" space will also be problematic. (For those unfamiliar with theatrical terms, the "green room" is the common area where cast can gather and await their cues before going to the wings.) Most of these theaters have shared dressing rooms--one room for men, one for women--and a green room that will hold perhaps 15 people comfortably in normal spacing.

Given all that, I suspect that large shows--major musicals, for instance--will be difficult to stage for the average community theater...if not impossible.

The future will be interesting.