Audience members who want to attend performances at the Alliance Theatre will have to prove they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the theatre announced in a statement.
Those who have not been vaccinated will have to provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test at the door, and all guests will have to present a drivers license, passport or other photo identification before attending a performance. In addition, all audience members, once admitted into the theater will be required to wear masks while they are in the building.
The move follows a similar announcement made by Broadway producers at the end of July, requiring patrons to be fully vaccinated and to wear masks in theaters when performances resume on the Great White Way in the fall.
“We are so excited to welcome audiences back to live theater in our performance spaces,” said Susan V. Booth, Alliance Theatre’s artistic director. “This vaccination requirement is intended to give our patrons the confidence to join us, knowing that we’re doing everything we can to create a safe environment for audience and artists.”
The vaccination requirement also applies to the Alliance’s performers and staff.
Theaters across the country suffered huge financial losses last year as they were forced to close to in-person, indoor shows. Many pivoted to virtual or even outdoor performances, as did the Alliance, to bring in some revenue and to remain relevant to audiences. The brief window of hope offered earlier this year as vaccines rolled out caused theaters to announce in-person, indoor schedules for the fall. Then came the highly contagious, rapidly spreading delta variant.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
From theaters to restaurants, the number of venues requiring patrons and customers to prove they’ve been vaccinated is slowly increasing as business owners try to figure out how to remain open while not contributing to the spread of the virus. The move by the state’s flagship theater is sure to prove controversial, as masking has never been required by state mandate in Georgia, only strongly encouraged. The City of Atlanta, however, recently reissued an indoor mask mandate for public buildings. This as the nation is experiencing a surge in new coronavirus cases, driven largely by the unvaccinated. Georgia has hovered around a 39 percent vaccination rate despite the recent surge.
At this point the new policy at the Alliance only applies to two shows, the upcoming musical, “Darlin’ Cory” which runs Sept. 8 through Oct. 3, and “The New Black Theatre Fest’s Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments,” which runs Oct. 8 through Oct. 31. The theater said it will decide whether to extend the policy to other shows in the coming months.
For now, the unvaccinated will have to show results from a PCR test taken within 72 hours of a performance or 6 hours for an antigen test.
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