Category: AUDIENCE

Will Audiences Really Pay For Online Content?

The rationale is clear enough. With families trapped inside by COVID-19, and children out of school and starting to climb the walls, a hyperactive new movie ought to be just the ticket. Also, twenty bucks is less than you’d pay at the cinema for yourself, your kids, and your silo-size Cokes. Yet the sum feels extortionate when you’re shelling out at home, perhaps because it carries a sweaty whiff of boxing bouts on pay-per-view. – The New Yorker

Is It Feasible To Reopen Cinemas With A Max Of 50 People Per Screen? Norway Is Trying It

Movie theaters in Norway will reopen on May 7 with a mandatory minimum of one meter of space between each audience member and no more than 50 patrons total in any one space. (These rules follow those of Sweden, which did not close its cinemas when the novel coronavirus arrived.) If everything goes smoothly, the limit will be increased to 200 patrons per screen on June 15. – Variety

Drive-Up Dance

Guided by pins on a digital map and a downloaded soundtrack — featuring songs, poetry, a couple of old voicemail messages and mysterious clues — ticketed audience members drive through the city and visit performers at their homes. The dancers perform from porches, sun rooms, front yards, alleys and balconies while the audience, cocooned in 20 cars (one per household), drives up to watch at 10-minute intervals. – Crosscut

How Asia’s Theatrical Powerhouse Has Kept Shows Running Through The Pandemic

“South Korea, which has a burgeoning theatre economy with a size and scale to rival the West End, has become the big player in Asia. … Its theatres were given the choice, rather than demanded, to close. A 15-day quarantine restriction has been applied to any theatre that remained open if a member of the audience or company develops COVID-19 symptoms, with a system in place to quickly contact and test all attendees and staff.” – The Stage

One Berkshires Theater Is Going Ahead With Its Summer Season — In A Very Careful, Socially Distanced Way

“The Barrington Stage Company, … responding to the coronavirus pandemic, will give up the ambitious musical productions for which it is known (it’s the birthplace of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). Instead, it will concentrate on one-person shows, and stage a play in which the central relationships are so strained that social distancing will not be a stretch.” 70% of the seats will be removed, as will intermissions (no mingling), and audience members must wear masks. – The New York Times

Performers And Presenters Game Out Various Reopening Scenarios (Some Of Them Quite Pricey)

With both the timing and the conditions of the return of live performances uncertain, organizations are considering numerous possibilities, from outdoor shows (free or ticketed) with spectators carefully spaced apart to playing in half-full halls (but what about box office and bathroom lines?) to booking in-high-demand artists in smaller (and half-empty) venues and charging hundreds of dollars for the few tickets. – The Washington Post

Texas Arts World Confused And Uncertain About Governor’s Reopening Orders

“The governor proclaimed that all retail outlets, as well as restaurants, movie theaters, museums and libraries, are free to reopen May 1 — but with occupancy no greater than 25%. That’s expected to expand to 50% by May 18. Debbie Storey, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which is home to five resident companies in the Dallas Arts District, summed up what many were feeling. ‘It didn’t specifically give us permission to open,’ Storey said, ‘so we’re still trying to assess what this means for us, and what it might mean on May 18.'” – The Dallas Morning News