Monday Midi

A few weeks ago, I learned that The Berkshire Theater Group would be putting up a socially-distanced musical -- the first to be performed since theater shut down along with most everything else back in March. This production is staged such that the actors are almost always six feet apart, and when they're not they pull their masks (kept around their necks) into place. When a chorus sings, they do so from behind glass panels, which are a built-in part of the set. When the script calls for any sort of contact, the action and reaction are done from separate spaces. The audience sits in chairs that have been assembled in such a way that they are spaced out. There is even a contactless crucifixion. As a diehard theater person, the news of this brings me some hope, both for the countless performers who are currently out of work, and for those of us who deeply miss the experience of live theater. I look forward to seeing how other companies get creative in the coming months to start bringing performances back into our lives. At the end of this month, I too will be experiencing the performing arts under these new conditions when I play in my first ever "drive-in concert" down near San Diego. (And let me tell you...there are A LOT of rules)! I hope we can all continue to strive for an effective balance between safety for all, and the fulfillment of that which fuels our lives 🧩

Amanda