As Seen in Backstage: How the Entertainment Industry Is Dealing With Coronavirus—the Latest
With the World Health Organization declaring coronavirus, COVID-19, a pandemic, and governments all over the world locking down industries and cultural centers, entertainment organizations in the United States are bracing for measures limiting crowd sizes. From Broadway to movie theaters to labor unions, industry leaders are bracing for entertainers and audiences to get sick—and for an industry that relies on social gatherings to undergo long-term financial effects.
Over the past few days, the United States has experienced a surge in diagnoses of the flu-like coronavirus across regions. With no vaccine available and specific demographics vulnerable, the nation has seen schools and universities cancel classes, businesses limit services, and the stock market plummet. Below, Backstage updates you on what the film, television, and theater industries are doing to prepare for the escalating impacts of coronavirus.
SDC and AGMA Unite to Plan Workplace Safety Standards
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) recently announced a collaboration for creating scientifically rooted guidelines for their members to safely return to work after over 80 days of COVID-19 shutdowns. SDC, which represents theater directors and choreographers, and AGMA, which represents opera singers, choral singers, and dancers, have retained the services of Dr. Mark Cunningham-Hill, Dr. Laura S. Welch, and Dr. Stephen J. Anderson. Cunningham-Hill, who has advised the company Johnson and Johnson during prior pandemics, will lead the team.
Between the two unions, hundreds of workplaces sign collective bargaining agreements that implement union work standards nationwide—from commercial theaters to regional non-profits.
“Whether in the rehearsal hall, backstage, onstage, or in the theatre, SDC members and our collaborators need to know that the producers and theatre companies we work with have and are following science-driven guidelines for a safe workplace,” said Evan Yionoulis, president of SDC. “There is much to be done, and we are pleased to be able to work with this expert medical team as we rebuild the means to share live stories of our common humanity, so necessary in this time.”
