William Shakespeare once said ‘All the world’s a stage,’ and COVID-19 remains in its 2020 spotlight.
As a result, the pandemic’s plot twists have left Canadian theatres off stage and hoping a hero will emerge sooner than later, which is either a vaccine or loosened gathering restrictions.
In the case of Theatre NorthWest (TNW), it’s patiently monitoring the situation and, in anticipating a return to the community in the months to come, has announced its 2020-21 schedule.
However, nothing can be firmly planned until health authorities give the green light to begin production.
“For us, the most important thing is the health and safety of our community, our artists, our volunteers and our staff,” says Marnie Hamagami, Executive Director for the Prince George organization.
“So all the decisions we make in the next couple of years will be with the global situation in mind.”
One of the biggest restrictions for live-theatre is B.C.’s 50-people maximum for organized gatherings that are able to have physical-distancing measures in place.
TNW, in addition to its performers needing to be compensated for their hard work, says important staff needs to be present for each show, which would undoubtedly limit the number of people wanting to come see a show.
“Because we have live artists on stage, we need to be able to cover their costs and, at the same time, ensure their safety,” Hamagami explained.
“So that means they would need to be counted in the 50 maximum. If you have four artists on stage, a technician in the booth, a stage manager and somebody front-of-house, that brings numbers down quickly, so we can only have somewhere between 35 and 45 people in the building paying for their tickets.
“Our hope is that the health situation will change enough to allow for larger groups of people to gather together, and we won’t be doing a show if that doesn’t happen. I would not want anyone thinking that we’re not interested in risking the health of the community.”
If and when restrictions allow TNW to host its two plays scheduled for spring 2021, this means rehearsals could take place as most shows involve some sort of physical contact such as dancing.
Hamagami states while the theatre may need to bring in cast members from across Canada, an emphasis for the upcoming season will be looking for Prince George performers.
“So that will mean artists will come from away in some cases, but we’ll intentionally try to use as much local talent this year. [...] At this point, these plays are not new works. They weren’t written post-COVID with post-COVID rules, so they’re very much works that would necessitate a normal rehearsal period. Singing and dancing is like a sport, so we absolutely need rules to be relaxed as such that we can do regular rehearsals.”
Like other small businesses, TNW has utilized most federal and provincial funding throughout COVID-19 in order to stay afloat.
Hamagami is grateful for the community’s patience as anyone who purchased a ticket for recent shows will be credited for the new season, if restrictions allow them to continue.
“All of our funders have been very understanding, which has made it very easy. Nobody has asked for their money back, nobody has asked us to explain ourselves, which is nice and that’s not the case for other theatres across the country,” she added.
“I know there are other communities who are clawing back with their funds and that’s scary. We’ve taken advantage of all the government programs that have been offered which is great for us. I know a lot of small businesses are asking the same question of ‘How will we survive?’”
The two shows on the 2020-21 bill include a comedy about early motherhood, known as Mom’s the Word, and a musical called The Marvelous Wonderettes, which focuses on 1950s song-leaders, mainly associated with cheerleaders, and is set to have a familiar playlist for the audience.
In a normal year, TNW would be starting its season in September, but has pushed the dates to April 15, 2021, when they’d normally host their final production of a season, and May 20, 2021 respectively.
Until the curtain closes on COVID-19, Hamagami encourages Prince George residents to follow safety rules and restrictions so TNW is able to bring back the thrill for the theatre to the community.
