Thoughts on the Next Phase
As of today there are two different ways of presenting works of theater.
- A company can look back into its filmed archive, if it has one, and broadcast it, ether at no cost or for a fee a previous performance.
- The second is to film actors, all in their separate spaces, reading the lines of the play.
The first way is a good choice when you want to attract anyone who didn’t get to see the original production in person, or has a serious case of nostalgia, but not much beyond that. The second is, I think, ideal for a new play reading, but not much else.
Performances of plays require the actors to interact, which is difficult to do when everyone is in a different room.
But What’s Next?
This is the situation today, but what about tomorrow?
Eventually we will see full productions again in front of live audiences, which will happen I’m guessing when there is both an effective vaccine and a treatment that works. Without these assurances I don’t believe the audience will be there.
Between what we have now and what we will have again in the future there could be a middle ground – some way of producing theater that can happen sooner than a vaccine and a treatment.
We can tell if someone has the virus or not. We can tell if someone had the virus. A producer can use this information to put together a cast that is safe, film it and then show it online just as producers now show archived material.
What do you all think?
Stay safe.