Los Angeles Philharmonic audiences will need to be fully vaccinated to attend concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall beginning October 9.
That announcement by the orchestra is the latest in a wave of similar statements from performing arts groups signaling a tightening of vaccination regulations in the south of the country: In some places, the negative result of the coronavirus test no longer it is an alternative to proof of vaccination, and this applies even to children under 12 years of age, who are not yet able to receive vaccinations.
Vaccination campaigns in the summer did not turn out as expected. The rise of the Delta variant, and the news that vaccinated people may continue to carry and transmit the disease, have prompted a return to mandatory mask wear on Los Angeles County venues and jeopardized the fall arts season that many imagined promising a few months ago, when vaccination rates looked promising and infection rates were plummeting.
Federal and local officials have shied away from the vaccination mandate, an idea that divides the country as sharply as mask-wearing regulations. However, an increasing number of arts organizations are choosing to require proof of vaccination to enter live shows, film festivals, premieres and award shows such as the Emmys.
There are two exemptions in the fine print of some groups’ policies: One for medical reasons and one for religious beliefs. People claiming either of these two reasons are typically asked to show a negative PCR coronavirus test performed within 72 hours of the event they are going to attend. Children under the age of 12 can also present proof of proof at certain locations.
Religious exemption has been offered frequently in East Coast venues, including the 41 Broadway theaters in New York and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC There is no formal registration process for beliefs religious of a person; theaters operate on an honor system and often ask to see negative PCR test results on paper or on a telephone. Broadway theaters also allow rapid antigen testing within six hours of a performance.
Los Angeles theater organizations that allow a religious exemption include the
Hollywood Pantages, the Geffen Playhouse, the LA Theater Works and the Center Theater Group, which is scheduled to reopen on November 30 at the Ahmanson.
However, anecdotal evidence indicates that change is taking place. The Los Angeles Master Choir, which at the end of last month still allowed a testing exemption, now requires all clients to show proof of complete vaccination. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which reopened Disney Hall to vaccinated audiences in June, remains committed to a strict vaccination policy.
“The public health data is pretty clear that vaccines are overwhelmingly effective in protecting against the Delta variant,” LACO CEO Ben Cadwallader said by email. “In addition to the public, LACO musicians, guest artists, and staff will also need to present proof of vaccination for all public events.”
Other groups, especially smaller theaters, are struggling to find out which policy will instill the most confidence in their audiences. After being closed for more than 18 months and relying on the fall to get back into business, struggling arts organizations want to do everything they can to calm their nerves in the tightest of spaces.
“Certainly, I’m about to just say, ‘You have to prove you’re vaccinated, and if not, we’re sorry, we can’t let you in,'” said Jon Lawrence Rivera, artistic director of the 99-seat company Playwrights’ Arena. “I have to talk to my lawyers and the board of directors to ask them, ‘Could you sue us saying we are discriminating?’
These kinds of questions, including whether a theater could be held responsible for an outbreak among a vaccinated audience, and concerns about how easy it is to falsify a vaccination card, loom over organizations that have been financially hit hard during the pandemic. .
When there is a loophole it could be fatal, many artistic leaders say that the logical thing is to demand vaccination, period. Johnny Clark, artistic director of VS. Theater Company, which is presenting an indoor show with Circle X Theater Co. at the Atwater Village Theater, said the production “Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight” requires a complete vaccination proof, with no exceptions.
“The reasoning was: ‘How do we make everyone feel totally safe? Already it is difficult enough to get people to come to the theater. Let’s control what we can control, ‘”Clark said. “We have to make sure we deliver a production that we are incredibly proud of, and everyone has to feel very comfortable walking through the doors. If they don’t feel comfortable and confident, they won’t be able to enjoy the show. “
Circle X artistic director Tim Wright directs the Atwater Village theater complex, which has four stages and is used by a number of small theater groups, including the Echo Theater Company and the Ensemble Studio Theater in Los Angeles. He said that everyone who uses the compound will have to abide by a strict vaccination policy.
“That is what we have to do. I feel bad for people who can’t get vaccinated and want to come, but the safest thing is to say, ‘If you’re vaccinated you can come in, but you still have to wear a mask and be socially distanced,’ ”Wright said.
The Fountain Theater, which has a stage in its parking lot, also recently announced a strict vaccination policy.
“Our company has been fully vaccinated for months,” the group announced on social media. “The Fountain Theater from now on will require proof of vaccination from all attendees for all future performances.”
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