Theaters remain dark to audiences as COVID-19 restrictions extended

The doors are closed at Open Window Theatre in Inver Grove Heights as the state of Minnesota announced continued restrictions on indoor entertainment venues Wednesday.

"We have what we call a redemptive vision in the arts, which is producing plays, live performing arts that have a message of faith, hope and reconciliation," said founder and Executive Artistic Director Jeremy Stanbary.

Open Window had a production on the stage when the state closed indoor entertainment due to spiking COVID-19 numbers in November, and that will be their last one until at least early January.

"We had to pour a lot of time and effort and financial resources into our COVID preparedness plan,” Stanbary said.

From requiring masks, hand sanitizer at the doors, social-distancing the space, smaller casts and operating at 25% capacity under state guidelines, Stanbary said even with the COVID-19 changes the theater was able to scrape by financially.

"We worked hard to reopen with a small cast show,” Stanbary said. “This fall we were operating safely and successfully without a single case of COVID that we’re aware of."

Open Window has been doing some virtual shows as well during the shutdowns.

Stanbary said they’ve written to lawmakers as well to try and allow performance spaces to re-open following the state’s previous COVID-19 protocols.

Minnesota Department of Health said outbreaks by social setting are not broken down in their data “as granular as live theaters or movie theaters.”

State leaders said Wednesday that indoor activities where people from different homes were close together for extended periods of time increase the risk of spreading COVID-19.

“We are very hopeful that people will rush back into the theater when it’s safe to," said Dawn Bentley a board member with the Minnesota Theater Alliance. ”It’s breaking my heart and those of us in this business because, I’m reluctant to give a percentage, but I know some won’t survive without further action."

There are 400-plus stages in the state, according to Explore Minnesota.

"It’s impossible for us to plan for the future, when these pauses and shutdowns continue to be extended, we have no certainty at all," Stanbary said.

$216M in state aid was passed by the legislature for COVID-19 impacted businesses earlier in the week in Special Session.

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Federal assistance, specifically directed for live performance venues, are part of the ‘Save Our Stages’ Bill that was heard this week in the U.S. Senate, co-authored Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

“I think one of the things we have learned from this pandemic is it is not one-size-fits-all. That not every business and every group of employees are affected in the same way…I think we all know that you can’t go stand in a mosh pit in the middle of a pandemic. I think you know you can’t sit elbow to elbow in a small theater, whether it is in a big city or a little town,” Klobuchar said at the hearing on Tuesday. "So many of these venues are literally the heart of our communities."

Back in the Twin Cities, a new Theater Emergency Relief Fund was announced Thursday by Minnesota Fringe for those working in the performing arts.