COVID-19: An Update

If I'm being honest, this is not the post I thought I would be writing for you just two weeks ago. This date was perfectly planned for a teaser, a preview of the cast and crew of Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors. A show that had been in rehearsal since February, which would open tomorrow night. A show we, sadly, had to postpone the year before, due to unforeseen construction. A show we just know you will love.

By now, I'm sure most of you know--or have assumed--that COVID-19 has changed the trajectory of our 2020 season. While we are certainly disappointed, the health and safety of our cast, crew, staff, and audience is our first priority. For that reason, we made the difficult decision to postpone both One Man, Two Guvnors and The Gentleman Clothier until our 2021 season.

Rest assured, our board of directors spent hours analyzing all of our possible options before making this choice. Unfortunately, there is still great uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus and we have no way of knowing how long this pandemic will last. We not only have to work within our volunteers' schedules, but the schedule of the Beaver Area High School as well.

So, as we plan our 2021 season, we will take into account the schedules of both casts and crews. Our priority will be to maintain as many members as possible, though we realize this may not be totally feasible. Please know that we are incredibly grateful to everyone who committed to these wonderful shows and worked so diligently on them. We are so sorry that this happened, but we truly look forward to bringing them to life next season.

We hope that the current state of affairs will have improved dramatically (see what we did there?) by summer so that we can continue with our outreach production of The President in July. For now, our home stage, the Ed Schaughency Theater, will remain dark. And since there are no shows currently happening, our blog will also remain dark until June. But friends, do not think for a moment that the spirit of our theatre is dark during these uncertain times. Over the next two months, we will continue to share memories of our productions past on our Facebook page--and we ask for your participation. Theatre is not theatre without its audience. Do not be a stranger. We will get through this together.