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The Coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for all sectors of society, but the arts have been hit particularly hard. We've collected a group of informational and emergency funding resources for our members and the entire theater community. This is an evolving resource, and we welcome your input for other resources or links that may be helpful to our entire community during this time.
Please visit; EMACT Coronavirus Resources To Our Valued EMACT Members:
Many companies in our membership have made the hard decision to cancel performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the interruption of the season and the fact that we don’t want to put our DASH Consultants at risk, we have decided to temporarily suspend the DASH program until there is official notification that is once again safe for performances to take place. If you have a show that was due to be seen by a consultant in the next few weeks, be advised that we will be happy to issue you a refund for the cost of the DASH or you can apply the payment toward a show for the 2020-21 season, which will begin on July 1, 2020. Please contact us at [email protected] with your preference, and any other questions you might have. Notes for any DASH Plus shows that have already been seen will be sent out in the next few weeks. Much of the advice from the organizations on the front lines of the pandemic response involves cancelling or rescheduling activities between two weeks and one month out. Given that our annual Gala is recognition of an entire season’s worth of community theater productions—and many of this season’s productions are tragically being cancelled—we should expect to make some changes to the awards program and perhaps even the Gala itself. However, it’s very early in the process, so we can only assure you that we will work closely with you to figure out how, and when, we celebrate together. It goes without saying that we are very sad to have to take this step, but we feel it’s in the best interest of our membership and our consultants. All the Best, EMACT Board of Directors To Our Valued Theater Group Community:
You’ve no doubt been inundated with notices about COVID-19. We recognize that the decisions you may have to make about auditions, rehearsals, and productions have profound impacts to you, and EMACT would like to help you navigate this uncharted territory. We have collected material from a number of organizations’ guiding messages about this pandemic. What you read below is an aggregation of considerations and best practices. Should we proceed with our production as scheduled? While EMACT can’t recommend a “one-size-fits-all” way to address how community theater organizations should respond to this pandemic, the following advice has been provided by the Governor via mass.gov:
What should we do if we choose to proceed?
What about the implications of cancelling our production? Cancelling a production is an incredibly difficult decision to which to come. Many organizations have felt compelled to do it. It is not, however, without impact. Considerations include the impact to revenue and cash flow, disappointing a hard-working cast and crew, and turning away faithful patrons. This is an opportunity to ask your patrons to renew their support in the face of a challenging situation for any non-profit organization. Know that some of your audience will be willing to show their support during this challenging time by turning their ticket purchase price into a donation. Don’t be afraid to mitigate the impact to your organization by making that plea. Organizations across the Commonwealth are planning-on between two-week and 30-day breaks. Those plans are being adopted across the state because they make sense based on today’s status. However, conventional wisdom about how to navigate these uncharted waters has changed daily and EMACT will continue to gather information to support you as you the situation evolves. Do you have questions or feedback? Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] Sincerely, EMACT Board of Directors |
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