With the increase in vaccination rates in Canada and the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, the health of the theater industry is showing signs of recovery. But uncertainty still exists.

Provinces are gradually introducing reopening plans in accordance with the rising trend of public health, but can our country’s live theaters return the performers and audiences that they want? Three performers shared their views on whether there is hope and what is needed.

When the crisis comes, “art is our way out”

Last summer, Toronto’s music stage company piloted a program called Porch song -Private performances in the backyard and front porch around the city.

Art director Mitchell Marcus said: “Some of us said that this was their best art experience last summer, and they got rid of loneliness through performance.”

The series is back again, showing it to a group of 10 people in the fresh air. When tickets went on sale, all 60 concerts were booked within an hour.

“Art is our way out, this time it happens again and again [of crisis],” He says.

“The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can use their incredible skill set before we lose all the artists and let them take the lead in bringing us back to a society.”

According to Marcus, Ontario’s reopening plan Only the “short-sighted” regulations for performing arts are listed, including allowing rehearsals, as well as outdoor broadcasting and recording, with a maximum of 10 performers at a time.

So he and his peers formed #FairnessForArtsON, A group of nearly 100 performing arts and live music organizations in Ontario, petitioned the government to provide accommodation equivalent to other departments.

“[Theatre actors] They will work in the outdoor parking lot under the scorching sun, while their counterparts in the film industry will work indoors with 50 people, while their counterparts in the sports world will practice games indoors,” he said.

The music stage is seeking to open up its new repertoire, power failure, This summer at the outdoor amphitheater in Toronto’s High Park. But it became a waiting game.

He said the reason for the delays and threats to livelihoods is a lack of thinking about how the theater will continue to operate.

“If you find this hard-hit industry, these unemployed artists, just because people don’t spend time following science and thinking about how obvious this is.”

Different from the art form we know in the past

Jivesh Parasram, the artistic director of the Rumble Theatre in Vancouver, said that once the pandemic hit, most of his peers learned video editing in order to start making virtual shows.

“have [a show] Cancelling or having to switch to the digital version requires a lot of work and may be very risky,” he said.

“In addition to everything else, we have been doing this. So what I really feel from many people is… intense burnout.”

Rumble Theatre happens to be already exploring the digital theater before COVID-19. It successfully broadcasted a show and continued its 2019-2020 season online.

“It’s ultimately good because it forces more multidisciplinary collaboration… and it spreads more widely,” he said.

Parasram admits that this is very different from the appearance of a traditional theater.

“I didn’t know it was the same art form. It was very interesting to me.”

The province of British Columbia will approach the second phase of its reopening plan as early as June 15 when up to 50 people will be allowed to gather for indoor events, including live theaters, and will develop safety protocols.

Despite the relaxation of some restrictions, Parasram, who moved from Toronto to Vancouver in 2018, suspects that theater companies in these two provinces will still like outdoor venues—at least for now.

“Even in the same room, for some people there, there will be a certain level of anxiety. This level of anxiety is difficult to participate in the work, and something will be missed,” he said.

But he said that art can greatly promote “community health.”

“Re-learning what it means to be in a space together is an important role we can play.”

Back to broadway

In March 2020, the Broadway musical that won the Tony Award Hudderstown Before COVID-19 shut it down, he performed at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway eight times a week.

One of the actors whose life has been disrupted is Jewell Blackman. She returned to Toronto, moved back to her parents, and instead wrote songs and plays in response to “the trauma and upset of the theater.”

She said: “I know, now, I can’t rely on my performance to survive this pandemic.”

She came up with a show called Crack in the wall, Co-authored with Evangelia Kambites, on love, loss, and life during a pandemic.As part of The Musical Stage Company, the duo will perform for an audience of 10 people Porch song series.

This will be Blackman’s first live performance since March last year. She said that compared with other industries, the recovery of theaters was so slow that she was frustrated.

In a recent film shot in Toronto, Blackman noticed the sharp contrast between the environment and the performing arts.

“Every three days, they conduct a quick test and you will get the results very quickly. Before they yelled’Shoot!’, everyone was still wearing a mask. Everyone in the room. Then only the actors took off. The mask was being filmed,” she explained.

But now that Broadway is back, Blackman will return to New York at the end of July to prepare HudderstownIt will reopen on September 2nd. She said she was looking forward to her first performance.

“I don’t know how long we will cry, or yell, or whatever. This will be a moment.”