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Billboard Theater, with information from Arantxa Castillo / After the second closure of the theaters in December due to the increase in infections by Covid-19, last Friday the authorities of Mexico City announced the reopening of the theaters with a maximum capacity of 20%. After almost three months of waiting, the capital venues will be able to operate under these conditions that many producers consider unfavorable in economic terms, however, they will still decide to open their scenic spaces.
In this regard, Morris Gilbert, director of Best Theater, points out that although a capacity such as the one proposed by the local government will not allow him to open all his works, he is already considering returning at least one of his productions. “It is very difficult for us to be able to cover the minimum expenses of a season with that capacity, I understand that this decision comes from epidemiological reasons. If the authorities determined this capacity for something it will be, obviously it is extremely low, nobody can pretend that the theater works with 20%. From Friday to here, I have had the opportunity to reflect, we are not going to open with all our works, because it is absolutely impossible, but maybe if any, we are doing the accounts, measuring expenses so that at least some of our theaters are already in operation, to maintain hope among our actors, our people, our technicians, that you can imagine how desperate they are to work, “he said for Billboard Theater.
For his part, Alejandro Gou, in an interview, told us that he was – on behalf of a group of producers – in charge of negotiating with the authorities, specifically with Alfonso Suárez del Real, Secretary of the Government of Mexico City, and with Vanessa Bohórquez, secretary of local Culture, who behaved very well. As a result of the press conference on February 15, it was agreed with the government that the theaters could reopen the last week of March or the first of April at 30% capacity, for this reason it considered that they should open before the agreed upon at a 20% “is good news, because what they had told us was anticipated. Obviously that 20% to many producers does not serve us right now ”, however, he added, there are productions such as Blindness which will premiere at the Teatro de los Insurgentes, which, due to its format, will be able to accommodate 100 people per function. In this way, expressed his gratitude to the CDMX government for advancing the opening and considered that from what was discussed with the authorities for the last week of March or the first of April, the capacity may increase to a minimum of 30% and added that there may be surprises and that by that date a 40 or 50 percent capacity is reached.
Regarding the return of his productions, Alejandro Gou told us that he will return on April 16 with Today I can not get up, taking as a starting point the verbal agreement reached with the city government.
For his part, producer Sergio Gabriel pointed out that the reopening of the theaters is good news for the entertainment industry that has suffered too much from the pandemic, because “you have to start with something.” In this sense, he said, “the situation we are experiencing is very difficult, not us, but everyone. Of course I would like to return with all my works and larger capacities, but I also know that it is little by little, no reruns are overnight, I am happy that the talks with the authorities have made progress, they committed to let us open with little capacity ”.
The producer of Two plus two expressed his desire to return with his works, but considered that with 20% it is not possible to return, “we have to wait for the traffic light to change, but it is a great advance for the entire entertainment industry, which with the pandemic has been very affected. It is needed by the people, the economy and the culture that is a fundamental part of education“.
In the independent theater sector, the news was also seen as positive, although it did not solve the terrible situation that theaters are going through. Boris Shoemann, director of the La Capilla Theater explained that he is aware that such a limited capacity does not fix the precariousness of the union, so it will continue with its virtual programming and with hybrid functions if the companies decide, because it understands the decision of each producer by taking risks with this capacity.
“Obviously this does not solve the terrible situation we are experiencing at an economic level and I understand that many producers decide not to enter this way, because actually opening the theater is very expensive. My position is to open according to the wishes of the groups that I am programming, I will open or I will leave it only in streaming, in this sense, the artists are free to consider the way to present themselves to the public and the La Capilla Theater is at their disposal to provide all the security for the spectators and artists who will be there ”, highlighted Shoemann.
For her part, Jessica Sandoval, director of Un Teatro, commented that opening her venue makes her very excited, since the second closing of the theaters was devastating. The also dancer and choreographer assures that it has not been easy, nor does she think it will be in the coming months, but she is committed to reopening her space dedicated to alternative performing art. “The second closing was like a checkmate after so many months of resistance, because there were zero financial funds, it was a tremendous blow, this devastated the spirit. At first it is very good news to return, people feel good coming to the theater, people need these kinds of expressions. The fact of opening seems positive to me ”.
“I think we will have to adapt to mount shows that allow us to open with 20%, we are creators and we have to bet on these proposals. We will need a lot of collaboration and empathy to be able to rebuild ourselves ”.
In the same way, Itari Marta, director of the Shakespeare Forum, assured that this is the most difficult stage for the forum since the pandemic began, as she pointed out that although the theaters can reopen at 20%, the economic deficit generated during the health contingency is so serious that it has considered taking more radical actions for the survival of the space and even considering the possibility of closing this enclosure.
The also actress and director explained the difficulties of a reopening after the prolonged closure and added that even the forum had thought not to open, but due to the interest of some producers interested in giving face-to-face functions, they will: “LWe independent spaces bring a deficit that you do not have an idea, to recover, 20% will not be enough and not only that, I do not think that even opening 100% at this time is affordable, because not necessarily people will attend and neither all producers are going to want to mount their productions. For independent spaces that do not have any subsidy and do not have the economic solvency of larger producers, it is dragging a very heavy economic burden […] we are in the most difficult stage of survival and we are likely to have to take more radical actions to survive. “
Finally, David Olguín from the El Milagro Theater pointed out that he is not happy with the capacity either, however in an effort to continue fighting for the presence, he will bet on the reopening of the venue located in the Juárez neighborhood. “In fact it is a very low percentage, especially considering that we were at 20%, when you look at the care that the theaters have and you see, on the contrary, that other types of businesses do not have the same care and have much greater capacity. I understand that certainly the first thing is to take care of our public and those who work in our space, but it is very absurd to go down from 30% to 20% is a significant difference, in itself for the great theatrical producers it was already very complicated, For us, who have small spaces, it is complicated, but we have to do it, we have to maintain the flame of the theater in person. We started immediately this Thursday, we resumed normal activities and full“.
Despite the reduced capacity, the resilience to get ahead, keeps producers convinced that betting on the reopening in these conditions, even if it is not a business, is important to reactivate the industry.
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