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Masked musicals? Why not!
When Covid-19 hit, everything shut down—especially theaters. The very model of theater is hard to imagine socially distant: People crowded together in seats, actors close together onstage singing and sharing costumes, props and wigs. But, luckily, theater people are creative and the first professional socially-distant show in America since March has arrived.
The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts is one of America's capitals for summer theater. Due to its extremely low Covid case count, community of dedicated theater-goers and plethora of large, open fields, it's the perfect place to experiment with Covid-safe theatre. The Berkshire Theatre Group will be performing the classic Stephan Schwartz 1971 musical Godspell from August 7-30.
To allow the actors to wear masks and face shields while performing, the show has been set during—surprise—a global pandemic. The stage set in an outdoor tent has been separated into 10 parts, one for each actor (who are all quarantining together in a large house). Three mornings a week, everyone involved goes to the Berkshire Medical Center for testing before heading to rehearsal where the usually communal bobby pins, props and water bottles have been separated in individual plastic bins.
The front row is set 25 feet from the stage (hello, singing) and instead of using the Berkshire Theatre Group's 780 seat theater, only 75 tickets will be sold per night with each different party in its own 6 foot bubble.
The designers were also met with a technical challenge. The costume designer is tasked with creating custom masks that are not only fashionable and safe, but don't interfere with the actor's microphones. The lighting designer had to design lights that wouldn't reflect off of the the clear, plastic dividers separating each singer.
These divides can seem impractical or just not worth it, but for the 51, 000 actors and stage managers represented by the Actor's Equity Association, not including the producers, theater owners, directors, designers and technicians who have been out of work since March, every baby step is vital.
"The whole industry needs this" Kate Shindle the president of Actor's Equity told the cast of Godspell. "Not to put any pressure on you, but the entire American theatre is depending on you to be really smart. People are going to look to you to know that theatre can happen without anybody getting sick.” (The New York Times)
The absence of live theatre has been deeply felt all over the world. And, while people have turned to Zoom plays or pre-taped recordings, nothing can replicate the feeling of a live show. If Godspell works, if no one involved onstage or in the audience gets sick, theatre will have a path and a model to reopen. It is a risky experiment, but completely worth it for the return of one of the most magical and powerful art forms ever created.
Based on The New York Times Article "'Godspell' in 2020: Masks, Partitions and a Contactless Crucifixtion"
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