My husband Matt is a guest on a podcast! I talk a lot about how one of the industries that’s been hit really hard by Covid is the live event industry. So long as it makes more sense for people to not gather in large groups, live events are going to be a challenge. On the one hand I think, come on, if we can allow people to fly in planes, then surely we as creative people can come up with ways to make theatre and concerts happen. And we’ve seen it, like with the Indigo Girls concert from a drive-in movie place in Atlanta, so the audience was in their cars, or sitting just outside their car, and we were sitting in our basement watching it on our TV.
On the other hand, we are seeing numbers of Covid cases soaring, and much as it hurts me in my heart, I need to agree that now is not the time for live events to get up and running again.
Unfortunately this means that thousands of people are out of work, coz remember we aren’t just talking about performers, we’re talking about box office staff, ushers, concession workers, equipment rental companies, costumers, and on and on and on. And Matt has a roster of over 500 casual employees who are the technicians who load in and set up shows, and take them out again. That’s just here in Vancouver. There are hundreds more in all the other centres, big and small, across the continents. So this is a huge deal.
Our colleague, Jay Swing, started a podcast called Swing’s Soapbox, to talk to industry professionals about all this stuff, and Matt was a guest on it recently. https://swingssoapbox.podbean.com
I got to thinking about why live events, live theatre live concerts, are so important. Matt and Swing talk a bit about this too. I’ve mentioned before about reading my work aloud to you, and how odd it feels to not have that instant audience reaction, so that’s how I feel as a performer. But what about the audience? What is it about seeing a concert, seeing our favourite musicians live, even if they’re so far away we’re spending a lot of time looking at the big screen. What is it about seeing that person whose work we love live and in person, when we could just sit at home and listen to a recording? There’s something about the energy when you see a live performer. Something about the possibility of imperfection of live music that makes it real. Of knowing that that voice I’m hearing is coming from THAT person RIGHT THERE, who is amazing and one of my favourite artists.
Why is it important to gather and experience these things together? Live theatre. Put your hand up if you’ve never been to a play. I don’t just mean Broadway, or these big shows that fill enormous venues, small intimate theatre spaces too. If you put your hand up I heartily encourage you to rectify that the moment the world opens up and it’s possible. Because there is just something about that shared emotional experience, seeing those actors on that stage RIGHT THERE, that is so powerful. And seeing it with a room full of other people. I don’t know about you but if I’m alone, I don’t find funny things funny, or sad things sad. Not to the same degree. Dirk Van Stralen talked about this in Chats With Cool Folk #2, https://totallyfantastictitle.podbean.com/e/20-chats-with-cool-folk-2-julia-mackey-and-dirk-van-stralen/ about seeing Julia Mackey’s play Jake’s Gift over and over and over, and yet because he is in a theatre where other people are crying, he cries. Even though he directed, and they have been touring the show for years, with countless performances.
I miss it. I miss live theatre, I miss live concerts. And all the people whose livelihoods rely on the, miss live events, too.
Anyway, check out Swing’s Soapbox.