{"id":4545,"date":"2022-02-18T07:02:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T12:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/?page_id=4545"},"modified":"2022-02-21T18:17:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T23:17:59","slug":"um-reveals-theater-plan-for-spring","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/?page_id=4545","title":{"rendered":"UM reveals theater plan for spring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted February 18, 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By AMANDA CRANE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few college majors have been impacted as much by the COVID-19 pandemic as the University of Miami theater students. Navigating how to safely perform amidst a global health crisis has posed a plethora of challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spring, the UM Theatre Arts Department is planning to put on three performances: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first will be \u201cThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” — based on the novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens from March 4-11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The entrance of the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables (Photo by Amanda Crane). <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d will be March 31-April 3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCabaret\u201d — music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb — will be performed April 21-30. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate Scarlett Diaz, a junior musical theater major from New Jersey, is overjoyed to be a part of “Cabaret” after five unusual semesters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotta make sure I’m making up for lost time,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cI gotta really ensure I\u2019m looking at it like this is my semester and I get to go to school every day and do what I love.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” and \u201cCabaret\u201d are both scheduled to occur inside the historic Jerry Herman Ring Theatre. \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d is set in the forest and therefore will take place outside, providing additional health safety measures.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diaz says \u201cCabaret\u201d will be taking place \u201cin the round.\u201d This means the audience will be seated on all four sides of the stage. The structure not only works for the musical, but also allows for more social distancing. Capacity of The Ring is 306 seats, but it will not be full this spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Usaga, box office manager of The Ring Theatre, expressed the theater department\u2019s compliance with the university\u2019s events and activities guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are taking additional safety measures, reducing the seat capacity by 50% (150 seats) and creating seat pods once we start to sell tickets to allow for social distancing inside the theater,\u201d Usaga said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the upcoming productions, students in the cast and crew will complete a mandatory PCR test two days prior to the first performance and a rapid test each show day. This differs from last semester where the cast only had to test twice the week prior to performances to perform without masks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performers do not plan to be masked in the upcoming productions if they receive negative test results- they will remain masked for all rehearsals and backstage. The crew and audience members will also be required to wear masks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shea Hittman, university stage management lecturer and advisor, has a background working on a COVID-19 emergency operations team. She found her comprehensive knowledge of the virus useful working in the arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMasking really is one of the best tools to conquer the virus and keep it at bay,\u201d Hittman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past fall production season, each show was only given a one weekend run opposed to the standard two weekends. The plan for the spring is to bring back two weekends of shows. This will give students, families and friends more opportunities to see their loved ones perform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool getting to share this really crucial part of me with my friends outside of theater,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cAnd I also am so excited to see my friends in their respective shows this season.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the health guidelines the theater department adheres to, all audience members attending the performances must review and agree to comply with the safety guidelines as part of check out when purchasing tickets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These guidelines include wearing facial coverings, completion of the symptom checker and agreement to participate in contract tracing in the event of a positive COVID test within 48 hours of attending the performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hittman expressed her fear of working around college students in a pandemic and the measures she takes to feel safe include testing when she can and consistent mask use. Hittman applauded UM\u2019s commitment to following all provided safety guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that in terms of adapting and managing to put on any shows, this school year is something to be proud of,\u201d Hittman said. \u201cIt\u2019s a feat of its own.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, audience members will be expected to practice social distancing in the theater. If any audience members are traveling internationally a week prior to the event, they will need to submit a negative COVID-19 test to attend.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are trying our very best to ensure our shows go on as planned,\u201d Usaga said. \u201cKeeping everyone in the department and our community safe and healthy along the way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Usaga, as UM\u2019s COVID-19 protocols evolve, the department will make any necessary changes to remain up to date with the safest health measures. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted February 18, 2022 By AMANDA CRANE Few college majors have been impacted as much by the COVID-19 pandemic as the University of Miami theater students. Navigating how to safely perform amidst a global health crisis has posed a plethora … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":26,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4545","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4545"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4555,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4545\/revisions\/4555"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}