Hope that Washington DC area stages will be able to produce a fall season this year has dimmed with the release by Actors’ Equity Association of the four core principles which would need to be met for its members to return to live performance. The announcement was made at a press conference held over Zoom yesterday.
Developed in conjunction with Dr. David Michaels, former head of OSHA during the Obama Administration and current Equity public health consultant, the notice also advised that Equity will continue to develop protocols to further protect its members.
“These four principles are the foundation for our continued work with Dr. Michaels,” said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association. “We intend to build out protocols that can be used by our employers and all of our colleagues to insure that everyone who works in the theatre has the safest workplace possible.”
“When we reopen the industry,” McColl continued, “we have one opportunity to get it right. We think that the principles that we are announcing today are the first step in building out protocols to help everyone that works in the theatre onstage, backstage, and even in the front of house.”
Those core principles are:
- The epidemic must be under control, with effective testing, few new cases in the area and contact tracing.
- Individuals who may be infectious can be readily identified and isolated, with frequent, regular and accurate testing with speedy results.
- The way we audition, rehearse, perform and stage manage may need to change and the venues we work in may need to undergo changes in order to reduce the risk.
- Efforts to control COVID-19 exposure must be collaborative, involving Equity members, employers, the union and all others involved in the production of theatre. There must be collective buy-in and ongoing evaluation and improvement of health and safety practices.
Actors’ Equity Association is the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in live theatre.
