unclevictor said: "MCW1227 said: "On another note, have theaters been preparing for this eventual reopening? I’m referring to plexiglass barriers or any type of safety measures that would help protect actors, stage workers as well as the audience. I haven’t read anything about this but let’s hope they have a reopening plan developed! Am I being too optimistic?"
You’re being beyond optimistic. I’m in regular contact with several local 1 members at numerous Bway theatres. Nothing has been updated. Nothing. Now that there has been an announcement by the Governor that bway can reopen, the league will take over and work with the unions. This isn’t going to be an easy task to take on but I have confidence in local 1 if there is a good plan."
First, logically, there is no reason to think a "local 1 member" would be aware of what is planned. Second, there is no reason any steps would have yet been taken. Third, there is a lot of time between now and when people will be entering the theatre for shows. Fourth, during that lot of time, there will be a great deal of evolution of what is required for the same reason that if you look back three months and ask what is required you would get a much different answer. Sixth, there is a great deal being done to plan for a safe reopening, both on the theatre and production side and also on the union side. For obvious reasons, AEA is front and center in this work because its members have the greatest potential risk.
So much of what is written in this resurrection of this thread misapprehends a great deal, the most salient aspects of which are how much of the population has been vaccinated, and how much of the risk is eliminated by requiring a passport to get into a place of public assembly. As I and others have noted previously, this is not some complicated fantasy. We have been doing exactly the same thing at sports events this entire year, and without either bedlam or unsafety. Those processes will, on a much smaller scale, be achieved in theatres. These various recent posts are beyond naive.
@iluvtheatertrash Ihave not overlooked the nursing homes. I mention it in the other most recent thread on reopening. But I do not see how that has anything to do with anything in this thread. Cuomo has saved many lives and has provided incredible and important covid leadership, especially at a time that it was critical. He also made one terrible mistake and has tried to cover it up. That does not undo what he has done on covid. I have never been a cuomo fan and have only voted for him in general elections because I had no alternative but that does not mean he does not deserve credit for the good as well as condemnation of the bad. But still, none of this is relevant to this thread in any even remote way.
