This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Read part 1 here to learn about the latest strategies taking place in museums. Read part 3 to learn about impacts on the tv and film sectors.

As arts institutions are in the midst of reopening plans, they are faced with new challenges as they seek to ensure the safety of their visitors, audiences, and staff in the COVID-19 era. The challenges and solutions differ depending on the industry, and whether it is a museum, performing arts institution, or film and television. Part 2 of this 3 part series explores the emerging reopening plans for the performing arts sector.

Social Distancing in Dance, Theatre, and Orchestra

Even when utilizing digital platforms to display their content, those participating in the performing arts still have to consider the well-being of their performers and other supporting roles. After the closing of studios and other practice spaces, performers lost not only the ability to perform for a live audience, but to prepare future pieces as a cohesive unit. To combat this and to keep their performers working, the Seattle Dance Collective turned to commissioning and filming solo/duet performances to be displayed online. In order to “keep everyone involved healthy and safe, the dances needed to be created distantly. Other than teaming up artists who were already sharing households … connection during the rehearsal process took place solely on Zoom; final filming took place mostly outdoors, practicing social distance” (Seattle Times). This helped choreographers and dancers work together from a safe distance and allowed for those who quarantine together to dance with one another, but still posed a difficult question when looking at bringing an audience into the equation.

While reopening studios or other dance locations has still been up in the air, particularly being due to the events of the Washington Ballet’s gala, which resulted in 3 company members contracting COVID even though the company “followed all the guidelines mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the D.C. Department of Health,” live performances are still thought to be possible if taken place outside (New York Times). This is primarily due to occupational risks dancers face due to how they “work in studio spaces with varying degrees of ventilation … share dressing rooms … touch … and are prone to heavy breathing” (New York Times). The outdoor Kaatsbaan Summer Festival 2020 combats these risks through keeping their programs short (20-30 minutes), only allowing for digital transactions, prohibiting bathroom use, and only presenting solo pieces or duets performed by dancers that live/quarantine together. In order to allow audiences to attend, “there are three ways to watch: from a car, as well as from benches and blankets, both spaced 10 feet apart” (New York Times). However, while this allows for some forms of dance to be viewed, group performances are still being limited due to higher risks of infection.

This risk has also been a primary concern when considering the performances of live theatre, where a location’s staging and seating may not be “social distance friendly.” To combat this issue, some theatres have gone through plans to reimagine their existing spaces, transforming them into a more appropriate set up. This is the case of The Wilma, a theatre based in Philadelphia, which plans to have “each party of patrons — whether they be solo or in groups of up to four — ... seated in a box, physically separated from all other parties” (New York Times). This layout is inspired by The Globe in London, utilizing a 360 degree design around the stage of performers. However, this renovation is not without hefty cost. “The structure is expected to cost up to $115,000, which the Wilma said it should be able to afford with its production budget … The theater also hopes to be allowed to stream its productions, to recapture some of the revenue lost as a result of having a lower seating capacity” (New York Times). With the economic hardships that the pandemic has placed on arts organizations, this level of renovation is not reasonably accessible to all theatre operations, with smaller companies facing the brunt of the hardships.

This lack of resources actually plays well into the minimalistic ideas that theatres are considering to keeping their staff and performers safe: “The theatrical requirements of the next phase — tiny casts, restricted audiences, simple sets, and plenty of space — will be intensified by a scarcity of money” (Vulture). Planning shows also needs to follow the less-is-more principle, as “flexibility is precious. Instead of clinging to long-range plans … The mantra of the next few years must be smaller, quicker, cheaper” (Vulture). While long-term planning tends to be a fundamental practice for large theatre productions, smaller companies should be able to adapt to this change at a more rapid pace. Technology can also help aid with this transition while also protecting staff. For example, “Lighting designers are working out a flexible matrix that can be controlled from a laptop” (Vulture). By doing so, behind-the-scenes staff should be able to perform their jobs from safe distances, helping to keep backstage areas from getting congested. Like with dance and museums, theatre is able to utilize outdoor spaces and creative seating in order to perform to audiences. Prior to lockdown, these strategies can be seen within Sweet Land, an operatic performance about colonial American battles. The show “took place outdoors, with the audience migrating through Los Angeles State Historic Park” (Vulture). This approach to theatre can allow for greater social distancing among audiences and staff at the same time, with small groups being able to see a performance over a staggered period of time. Being outdoors, there isn’t the issue of low ventilation or restrictive capacity quotas, but there is a greater emphasis on planning and timing to ensure shows are done properly and without bottlenecks.

Some theatre companies are taking the idea of a mobile audience into more immersive, interactive territories. For example, London’s West end has adapted its latest version of The Great Gatsby into a masquerade ball, where, “Spectators are invited to wear masks, which they can integrate into their disguise, and gloves if they wish. The audience will also be reduced to 90, down from 240 previously” (Global Times). The show is planned to open in October. In order to recover from revenue lost due to reduced audiences, there are organizations, such as Old Vic’s Theatre, recording shows and selling tickets for the streamed performance. Though this doesn’t incorporate a live audience, it does help to allow spectators to watch incoming shows and theatres to gain revenue. Even while some theatre companies have made their previously recorded content free of cost online, Old Vic’s Theatre plans for, “each performance … [to be] be filmed and broadcast live to the 1,000 people who purchased tickets at the usual prices of between 10 pounds and 65 pounds, although all will enjoy the same view” (Global Times). This move may help such a practice become a norm in the industry, as it shows that there are companies that believe the strategy is viable for the near future.

Branching into the world of Orchestra, productions face the same issues discussed above, with the addition of one other major factor: a majority of ensemble pieces require various instruments to be played in order for the sound to be complete. These difficulties are elevated by the addition of instruments that require airflow to operate, such as within the brass and woodwind sections. To combat these challenges, scientists in Berlin have recommended spacing regulations (on top of existing COVID hygiene standards) for orchestras to follow:

• String spacing: 1.5 m.

• Blower stool spacing: 2 m, liquid removal and instrument cleaning with disposable wipes (to be disposed of) or wipes (to be cleaned). Brass with additional plexiglass protection.

• Drummers: chair spacing of 1.5 m, avoid sharing instruments and accessories.

• Harps and keyboard instruments: 1.5 m apart.

• Conductor distance from the orchestral musicians: at least 2 m for rehearsal and 1.5 m for concert (The Strad).

These guidelines help to gift ease of mind to other performers and audiences that may worry about the airborne particles coming from brass or woodwind instruments. Such concerns prompted a study into how far these particles are expelled from such instruments, which employed “a type of smoke to measure how various instruments moved the air around them. That research, which hasn’t yet been reviewed by other scientists, found little disturbance, indicating the instruments weren’t launching droplets … unsurprising, according to basic physics: while air may enter an instrument quickly at the mouthpiece, it exits more slowly at the wider opening” (WIRED). This finding has led to the added suggestion of using plexiglass sheets between sections/performers to further enhance safety precautions in Berlin. However, other institutions worry about contaminants riding on a different vehicle smaller than droplets, called “aerosols.” Lindsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech, spearheaded the conversation behind this potential issue, “’Those smaller particles, which hang around in the air longer, are difficult to capture by measuring air velocity alone.’ Marr, who became interested in the potential for transmission among musicians after learning about the super-spreading events in choirs, thinks they could be a key hazard for orchestras and bands as well” (WIRED).

For added caution, there are orchestras that have decided to curb infections further by testing performers before they are able to play at a show. This is similar to how athletes across varying sports groups have been operating during practices and training. If a performer tests positive, they do not get to play. However, this too comes with additional financial strain, as “It’s too expensive [for orchestras] to do in the long term … They need a lab that can return diagnostic results within hours” (WIRED). As with other arts institutions, orchestras must also consider how to keep their audiences socially distanced in an environment that has ample spacing and ventilation. Some have considered outdoor concerts, while others have set seating capacities within their spaces: “At the Konzerthaus, capacity will be reduced to less than a third of the norm, so that listeners can sit at a safer distance from each other. It’s not financially sustainable in the long-term … for smaller orchestras, all of these changes could swiftly become existential” (WIRED). This difficulty has prompted orchestras to first test their performances for digital audiences, similar to dance and theatre pre-opening strategies. One of the first to implement this idea was the Berlin Philharmonic back in March 2020. Even without the audience, the performers were required to follow various safety requirements and “no more than 15 musicians could be onstage at a given time … The players were kept two meters (about six and a half feet) apart — except for wind players, spaced five meters (about 16 and a half feet) from one another and their colleagues … health authorities allowed the musicians to perform without masks so long as they wore them backstage. All the participating musicians were tested for the virus before the start of rehearsals. … Stagehands — in masks — appeared to move seats around and replace scores on stands” (New York Times). While the ability to perform is preserved by these precautions, with only 15 performers on stage, the selection of pieces that can be played are limited.

Musical limitations require a great deal of tact and creativity when putting a program together, but also allow for orchestras to use unique, diverse pieces in the stead of classic crowd favorites. “The old argument that programming risks can’t be taken for fear of losing ticket sales makes even less sense given curtailed capacities and audiences desperate for live music” (New York Times). Pieces that involve minimal wind/brass instruments, intentional use of distances, and unique stage direction are among those that groups should consider. Such pieces include Mozart’s Notturno for Four Orchestras, which “intended the four string sections, each joined by two horns, to sit apart, toying with space in echoes and overlapping phrases” and Haydn’s Symphony No. 45, Farewell, which helps with the issue of “Getting musicians on and off the stage safely while following social distancing protocols … During the last long section, musicians … stop playing and, one by one, walk off the stage” (New York Times).

For more listening, check out the New York Times Playlist of Suggested Works for Socially Distanced Orchestras.

Read part 3 of this series to learn about how tv and film are adapting safety measures in light of COVID-19. To find out more on museum protocols, read part 1.

RESOURCES

Barber, Gregory. “The Science Behind Orchestras' Careful Covid Comeback.” Wired. Conde Nast, June 8, 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/the-science-behind-orchestras-careful-covid-comeback/.

“Berlin Study Issues Recommendations for Orchestral Distancing.” The Strad, May 8, 2020. https://www.thestrad.com/news/berlin-study-issues-recommendations-for-orchestral-distancing/10641.article.

Kourlas, Gia. “There's No Social Distancing for Dancers. How Can the Show Go On?” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 24, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/arts/dance/safety-protocols-dance-coronavirus.html.

Ligon, Liz. “What Socially Distanced Live Performance Might Look Like.” Vulture, May 14, 2020. https://www.vulture.com/2020/05/what-socially-distanced-live-performance-might-look-like.html.

Macdonald, Moira. “How Choreographers Create Dances in a Time of Coronavirus Social Distancing.” The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company, June 22, 2020. https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/dance/how-choreographers-create-dances-in-a-time-of-social-distancing/.

Paulson, Michael. “This Theater Plans Dividers to Keep Patrons Socially Distanced.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 1, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/theater/wilma-theater-social-distancing.html.

“So You Want to Be a Socially Distanced Orchestra.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 16, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/arts/music/classical-music-social-distancing-virus.html?auth=linked-google.

Tommasini, Anthony. “The Berlin Philharmonic Tests a Musical Path Out of Lockdown.” The New York Times. The New York Times, May 1, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/arts/music/berlin-philharmonic-coronavirus.html?auth=login-google.

“UK Theaters Adapt to Social Distancing.” Global Times, June 18, 2020. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1192067.shtml.