After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the abundance of postponed shows made it seem as if we were at a point of no return, theatre a dying art form. Play runners faced their share of difficulties putting their shows in front of an audience. This brought to life many ingenious ideas to abide by the socially distancing rules on stage and off.
Shows that can be performed while distancing
To help those teaching drama in schools or in local community centres, we’ve gathered a list of monologue and non-monologue plays and musicals that can be done on stage with six feet of distance between actors.
By order of first performance, take a look at these shows from most recent to oldest:
- Leopoldstadt (2020)
- Small Island (2019)
- Life of Pi (2019)
- Six (2017)
- Escaped Alone (2016)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016)
- Fly By Night (2015)
- Dear Evan Hansen (2015)
- Dear Elizabeth (2014)
- Shida (2013)
- The Audience (2013)
- The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2012)
- The Last Five Years (2001)
- Frozen (1998)
- Love Letters (1988)
- Happy Days (1961)
- Uncle Vanya (1898)
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1605)
*some of the plays listed are recommended for targeted audiences 14+
These plays can be staged while performers and backstage crew abide by social distancing rules, without actors looking too out of place when spaced apart.
Adjusting the stage
The most common approach seen in theatres during the covid pandemic was live-stream performances. These imply a live-streamed audience whilst the actors perform together on-stage yet adhere to social distance rules.
Some of the plays that can be performed while social distancing require a few adjustments to the stage to comply with health and safety measures.
With that in mind, Stage Systems offers stage extension kits, available for the Q-Build and Q-Plus portable staging. These kits increase your stage area through ‘bridge decks’ that simply hook onto adjacent frames and create an additional deck without the need for a frame.
Guidelines to Performing Arts
Both teaching and performing drama will be different, even in a post-lockdown world. Here are some tips to help prepare theatre performances:
- Practice outside or in a large room with ventilation.
- Share scripts in a digital format or project them against a wall.
- Avoid rotating people between tasks: keep the crew in groups and minimize contact between them. If one workgroup becomes compromised they are isolated and do not affect the entire play cast.
- Do not share costumes and props: assign each person their own materials, which they are responsible for taking into practice and clearly mark them. Avoid creating common storage for these.
- Similarly, make sure each piece of technical equipment is always operated by the same individual.
- Clearly mark spaces on stage to guarantee there is always a distance between actors.
- Remember to disinfect staging as well as chairs, railings and doorknobs at the beginning and end of each performance. For this purpose, Stage Systems has adopted a new Bio+Coat antibacterial lacquer, take a look at our updated stage cleaning recommendations.
For further guidance on performing arts during Covid times, visit the Gov.UK page on working safely during the coronavirus outbreak.
Header image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/silhouette-of-three-performers-on-stage-p6rNTdAPbuk
