"The arts and entertainment industry is continuing to be hit harder by Covid-19 than almost every other area of the economy, despite many sectors showing signs of recovery, new data has revealed."[1] This statement from the magazine "The Stage" sends chills down the backs of all whom currently work in the arts sector and force them all to ask the question of what to do now.
As a new theater student, I continue to find myself in a place of distress about the future of theater after the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In May of 2020, the casting company 'BackStage' stated"[2]Nearly two months into lockdown, the future of theater is under threat. The government has been clear that spaces where one thousand people can sit, legs nudging legs, breathing in reconstituted air, is not the lockdown solution they’re looking for, and theaters remain closed."
All young actors fear to look at their future career paths. The career of theater has always been an uncharted way to go, but now this is true more than ever. never before have people feared that their futures may be ripped out right from under their feet.
Before that pandemic many young actors had dreams of Broadway and the west end, now many of them are looking into such jobs as marketing or sales to aim their showmanship towards.
However, there is a small glimmer of hope for these young actors. Many theatres started doing online pre-recorded shows so that people could continue to watch the shows from the safety of their homes, although there was certainly magic lost in this transition from live to pre-recorded and many fans had no interest what so ever in it, so the theater sector continues to struggle.
Few people would attempt to argue that with Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime and many other streaming platforms that theater is an unnecessary expense, but many I hope would disagree with such an outlandish statement. Many famous actors still enjoy acting in front of a live audience including Sir Ian McKellen who was playing hamlet at The Theater Royal Windsor before the beginning of lock down and is looking forward to returning once lock down has ended, Sir Patrick Stewart who claims that he truly loved acting in both "No Mans Land" and "Waiting For Godo" on Broadway, Nile Patrick Harris who played Hedwig from "Hedwig and the Angry Itch" in which he won a Tony.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected many people. I reached out to my old theater teacher to see what she had to say about it, and she said:
"Teaching 'Theater' with theaters closed has been a nightmare but it has been great that NT and R.C,S. and the like, have been making available online shows that I have managed to share with the kids so they're still getting to see theater from perspective of the audience. Performing has been interesting - we have tried to keep students, who are in different year bubbles, socially distanced when on stage; characters who 'shout' in role, directed to keep their heads turned away; props used have to be wiped/cleaned in between use - totally knackered at the end of every rehearsal, but determined the kids will create theater/drama because it has proved cathartic in these turbulent times."[3]
Much like the turbulence in schools, there is a great amount of turbulence in the University sector. Theater relies a lot on in-person teaching in groups and due to the pandemic, it is simply impossible to do so many drama professors have had to lean mainly on the theory side, this aspect has upset a large number of theater students and even made them consider if they should wait another next year before applying to university. Many first-year students that I know have been very upset with the current circumstances.
In conclusion, Covid as effected the theater sector greatly and will likely leave it greatly damaged for many years to come, but if the support that has kept theaters alive over the pandemic continues, there shall be a bright future for all theaters.
[1] Snow. G.(2020) ‘Arts sector continuing to suffer worst Covid-19 effects – ONS’. ‘The Stage’. Available at: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/arts-sector-continuing-to-suffer-worst-covid-19-effects--ons Accessed on: 09/02/2021 2 Ross. E. (2020) “How Is UK Theatre Surviving COVID-19?”. “Backstage”. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/uk/magazine/article/uk-theatre-covid-19-70685/ . Accessed at: 09/03/2021
[3] McQuade-Powell, N. (2021) Email to Rory Miles, 9 March
Comments