Sometimes actors have to think on their feet, adapting to a dropped line or a missed cue. Sometimes the curveballs thrown at them are even bigger, such as a prop that fails.
Like everyone else, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre people have had to adapt to the coronavirus, and they plan to reinvent what the live theater experience might look like as the center looks to reopen with an abbreviated season of three live productions – two that reflect social issues at the forefront of the national consciousness.
Closed since March, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre announced that it will present three plays with small casts that can be performed with social distancing on stage for the actors’ safety. It will also limit the audience capacity to 30%.
“This return to live theater is what we’ve been looking forward to,” said Executive Director Rodney Van Valkenburg, “but in a new reality where safety is as inherent to the theatre experience as the action on the stage. Our patrons can be confident in the safety protocols we have put in place so they can focus on what’s important – simply having a good time.”
The center’s 2020-2021 season, which was set to open in September, has been postponed to 2021-2022. Unlike that lineup, this new series includes no musicals, as singing puts actors at greater risk of exposure. Instead, the theater will present three non-musical plays that will mark a return to production for the first time since it shut down in March.