Production In A Pandemic

I am an actor! I always feel happy when I say that. My side hustle is working at MWS. It’s a side hustle that I not only love but would be lost without. The problem is, at this moment  I am neither an actor nor an MWS employee because of this pandemic. When you’ve seen me in the store I’m sure you had no idea I am an actor. I’m not the type to hand out my card or slip you my headshot, in fact, I marvel at those that do. But I am a member of SAG/AFTRA and ACTORS’ EQUITY and like you, I am desperately hoping to return to work. The problem is my unions have laid out very stringent requirements for returning to production in a pandemic. While I am grateful for the efforts to keep us all safe, it does make me wonder when we will return to work.

Production In A Pandemic: SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA recently released “The Safe Way Forward,” a Multi-Union Report on Covid-19 Safety Guidelines. The Guidelines set forth a detailed set of science-based protocols serving as a path for employers to uphold their responsibility of providing safe workplaces in a pre-vaccine, Covid-19 world. The Guidelines serve as an essential and necessary element of a return to work for the Unions and Guilds representing film and television casts and crews. 

These guidelines are a follow up to the White Paper. The White Paper said specific protocols and procedures would be the subject of further discussions. The recent guidelines announced by SAG-AFTRA along with other Unions and Guilds set forth key components of those now detailed protocols and procedures. The problem here is, these guidelines are 37 pages long. So the highlights are Testing, a Zone System, and lots of PPE! 

Production In A Pandemic: Actors Equity Association

It’s a similar situation with Actors’ Equity. AEA hired Dr. David Michaels, the former head of OSHA during the Obama administration to serve as a health and safety consultant. Dr. Michaels released a memo stipulating four conditions that must be met before theatres can resume production:

1. The epidemic must be under control, with effective testing, few new cases in the area, and contact tracing. 
2. Individuals who may be infectious can be readily identified and isolated, with frequent, regular, and accurate testing with speedy results. 
3. The way we audition, rehearse, perform, and stage-manage may need to change and the venues we work in may need to undergo changes in order to reduce the risk.   
4. Efforts to control COVID-19 exposure must be collaborative, involving Equity members, employers, the union, and all others involved in the production of theatre. There must be collective buy-in and ongoing evaluation and improvement of health and safety practices. 

So far AEA has granted permission to only two theatres to reopen for productions. Both theatre companies are in Massachusetts. One theatre will have an indoor one-man show with strict distancing, capacity, and disinfecting requirements The other theatre will present an outdoor musical “Godspell” set in the time of COVID, so even the actors will have PPE. I thought that one was pretty clever!

Production In A Pandemic: MWS

On a positive note, MWS knows that this need for PPE is not nor should go away. We have brought in some great products from masks, even the clear plastic face shields that go on your head to disposable capes and gloves. We have hand sanitizer and other products for effective cleaning whether you are an actor, crew member, or anyone who wants to be as safe as possible.

For those of you who have not shopped in the store, or may not be familiar with all we have to offer, Click here for a look at a blog I wrote a few weeks ago about our reopening.

MWS will continue shopping for the best products and affordable prices to keep you safe on productions. We are also working hard to keep the store, our staff, and customers safe. The store has reopened to the public but we are limiting in-store capacity. We have adjusted hours to give us time for deep cleaning and we do require masks for staff and customers.

We are still offering curbside pickup so just order online and we will bring it down to you. Also, we are keeping up with all the requirements to get production back up and running so that we will have the products you’ll need.

As always we are grateful for your business. I look forward to the day that we can say hi in the store or on set!