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When a Pandemic Arrives at the Playhouse Door When a Pandemic Arrives at the Playhouse Door
(1 day later)
On Thursday afternoon, the school nurse called. My 6-year-old daughter had run a fever and complained of a sore throat. Could I come and get her? It could be the flu, we agreed, or possibly strep throat. Neither of us wanted to name other possibilities. I called our pediatric practice as I walked to her school, securing an appointment for a strep test. While we were waiting, with her sucking a dripping Popsicle, and me twitchily checking my phone and trying not to spiral, I saw the announcement that all Broadway productions would close immediately, reopening in mid-April at the earliest.On Thursday afternoon, the school nurse called. My 6-year-old daughter had run a fever and complained of a sore throat. Could I come and get her? It could be the flu, we agreed, or possibly strep throat. Neither of us wanted to name other possibilities. I called our pediatric practice as I walked to her school, securing an appointment for a strep test. While we were waiting, with her sucking a dripping Popsicle, and me twitchily checking my phone and trying not to spiral, I saw the announcement that all Broadway productions would close immediately, reopening in mid-April at the earliest.
As we walked to the medical practice — the first strep test was negative, but the doctor insisted on running a second and honestly I’ve never felt so grateful to have a bacterial infection confirmed — then headed for the pharmacy, my phone kept buzzing. Each notification was an email announcing a new postponement, a new closure, as though theater in New York were some gaudy chandelier and I could see its bulbs blinking out, one by one. I had a show to see that night, another on Friday and more over the weekend; they all disappeared, except, inexplicably for Taylor Mac’s “The Fre,” in which cast and crew jostle together in a ball pit. That one I canceled myself.As we walked to the medical practice — the first strep test was negative, but the doctor insisted on running a second and honestly I’ve never felt so grateful to have a bacterial infection confirmed — then headed for the pharmacy, my phone kept buzzing. Each notification was an email announcing a new postponement, a new closure, as though theater in New York were some gaudy chandelier and I could see its bulbs blinking out, one by one. I had a show to see that night, another on Friday and more over the weekend; they all disappeared, except, inexplicably for Taylor Mac’s “The Fre,” in which cast and crew jostle together in a ball pit. That one I canceled myself.
To go to the theater, to engage in any activity in public life, is always to assume a certain hazard. (Then again, hundreds of people die every year from falling out of bed. Nowhere is safe.) To put ourselves into community means to make ourselves vulnerable to infection, from a virus, from an idea. It’s possible to forget that, sunk into some plush seat while a chorus line ululates, but threat remains. And live art, like most sporting events or religious services or flying economy class, puts us into particular proximity.To go to the theater, to engage in any activity in public life, is always to assume a certain hazard. (Then again, hundreds of people die every year from falling out of bed. Nowhere is safe.) To put ourselves into community means to make ourselves vulnerable to infection, from a virus, from an idea. It’s possible to forget that, sunk into some plush seat while a chorus line ululates, but threat remains. And live art, like most sporting events or religious services or flying economy class, puts us into particular proximity.
At the doctor’s office, waiting for test results, I worried about how I had put my daughter at risk (she attends a public school, which was open) and whether she might have infected others. Which is to say that I was and am sympathetic to the directive shuttering venues that seat 500 people or more, including all Broadway theaters, even though it caught me by surprise.At the doctor’s office, waiting for test results, I worried about how I had put my daughter at risk (she attends a public school, which was open) and whether she might have infected others. Which is to say that I was and am sympathetic to the directive shuttering venues that seat 500 people or more, including all Broadway theaters, even though it caught me by surprise.
I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating theater and epidemics — about a decade ago, I defended a doctoral dissertation on their relationship — without ever really thinking I would experience something like this. I remember following the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 and reading how Mexico City had closed its concert halls and theaters, and thinking how that could never happen in New York, with its emphasis on autonomy and individual choice. But it has happened. On Twitter Thursday night, as artists shared news of more closings, mourning opportunities lost, getting behind the public good, feeling — let’s go to Stephen Sondheim, whose “Company” was among the canceled — sorry-grateful, regretful-happy.I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating theater and epidemics — about a decade ago, I defended a doctoral dissertation on their relationship — without ever really thinking I would experience something like this. I remember following the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 and reading how Mexico City had closed its concert halls and theaters, and thinking how that could never happen in New York, with its emphasis on autonomy and individual choice. But it has happened. On Twitter Thursday night, as artists shared news of more closings, mourning opportunities lost, getting behind the public good, feeling — let’s go to Stephen Sondheim, whose “Company” was among the canceled — sorry-grateful, regretful-happy.
Theater has always had a vexed relationship with illness, from the ancient plays of Sophocles, which remain ambivalent about the role of the ill person in society; to George Bernard Shaw’s “Too True to Be Good,” an early anti-vax play that places a talking microbe onstage; to the plays galvanized by the AIDS crisis. Renaissance theaters closed often in an effort to stave off bubonic plague. And writers of anti-theatrical tracts, who collated any theatrical practice with terrible sin (I should be so lucky!), often laid blame for the plague at theaters’ doors. Here’s how the mayor of London put it in 1584: “To play in plague-time is to increase the plague by infections, to play out of plague-time is to draw the plague by offendings of God upon occasion of such plays.”Theater has always had a vexed relationship with illness, from the ancient plays of Sophocles, which remain ambivalent about the role of the ill person in society; to George Bernard Shaw’s “Too True to Be Good,” an early anti-vax play that places a talking microbe onstage; to the plays galvanized by the AIDS crisis. Renaissance theaters closed often in an effort to stave off bubonic plague. And writers of anti-theatrical tracts, who collated any theatrical practice with terrible sin (I should be so lucky!), often laid blame for the plague at theaters’ doors. Here’s how the mayor of London put it in 1584: “To play in plague-time is to increase the plague by infections, to play out of plague-time is to draw the plague by offendings of God upon occasion of such plays.”
And ever since the Enlightenment, theorists have argued against representing illness onstage because it makes audiences uncomfortable, because actors can rarely play physical suffering convincingly. (Even now, stage deaths are still a problem.) As Sigmund Freud complained, “If a spectator puts himself in the place of someone who is physically ill, he finds himself without any capacity for enjoyment or psychical activity.”And ever since the Enlightenment, theorists have argued against representing illness onstage because it makes audiences uncomfortable, because actors can rarely play physical suffering convincingly. (Even now, stage deaths are still a problem.) As Sigmund Freud complained, “If a spectator puts himself in the place of someone who is physically ill, he finds himself without any capacity for enjoyment or psychical activity.”
Yet theater has also provided a place to think through the fears and realities of communicable or otherwise dangerous illness and to do that thinking in community. If you have seen plays like Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” which situates the AIDS crisis within social, political and spiritual matrices, or Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which asks audience members to take personal responsibility in preventing the spread of H.I.V., maybe you have done some of that thinking, too, and even altered your behavior.Yet theater has also provided a place to think through the fears and realities of communicable or otherwise dangerous illness and to do that thinking in community. If you have seen plays like Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” which situates the AIDS crisis within social, political and spiritual matrices, or Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which asks audience members to take personal responsibility in preventing the spread of H.I.V., maybe you have done some of that thinking, too, and even altered your behavior.
Theater, we know, can create a conduit for empathy and provide a means to process complicated situations and feelings. It’s only a matter of time before the first Covid-19 plays emerge, and we can — retrospectively, and assuming theaters are still a thing — be nudged toward compassion for the afflicted, be constituted as a community of support. Because that’s what theater can do: It can ask us to think and feel beyond the confines of our own experience and find fellow-feeling, immediately and intimately, with those around us.Theater, we know, can create a conduit for empathy and provide a means to process complicated situations and feelings. It’s only a matter of time before the first Covid-19 plays emerge, and we can — retrospectively, and assuming theaters are still a thing — be nudged toward compassion for the afflicted, be constituted as a community of support. Because that’s what theater can do: It can ask us to think and feel beyond the confines of our own experience and find fellow-feeling, immediately and intimately, with those around us.
But right now, community is the problem, not the solution. And if we want fellow-feeling, we’re going to have to look for it on Zoom and Skype and FaceTime.But right now, community is the problem, not the solution. And if we want fellow-feeling, we’re going to have to look for it on Zoom and Skype and FaceTime.
Besides, as someone who used to really cheerlead for theater as an empathy vector but has watched too many audiences rage and cry and then go out for a nice dinner and may have enjoyed the occasional nice dinner, too, I know that catharsis isn’t as useful as action. And the actions we can currently take are to stay home and try not to hoard Purell.Besides, as someone who used to really cheerlead for theater as an empathy vector but has watched too many audiences rage and cry and then go out for a nice dinner and may have enjoyed the occasional nice dinner, too, I know that catharsis isn’t as useful as action. And the actions we can currently take are to stay home and try not to hoard Purell.
There are ironies here, of course — that in order to maintain an already dangerously atomized society we have to atomize further, that in order to preserve communities we have to back away from communal activities. Some great modernist works, like Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” or Karel Capek’s “The White Plague,” blame illness on an obliteration of social bonds. But let’s go with the epidemiologists on this one.There are ironies here, of course — that in order to maintain an already dangerously atomized society we have to atomize further, that in order to preserve communities we have to back away from communal activities. Some great modernist works, like Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” or Karel Capek’s “The White Plague,” blame illness on an obliteration of social bonds. But let’s go with the epidemiologists on this one.
Updated June 5, 2020Updated June 5, 2020
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.
I should probably say that I don’t really want to stay home, and that I’ve felt a fair amount of self-involved panic alongside the it’s-the-right-thing-to-do vibes. I enjoy my work, my family depends on my earnings as a critic, I lean on drama to lift me out of myself and I don’t really know what a week feels like without frantically rushing out the door at 6:45 p.m. and frantically rushing back in again moments later because I’ve forgot the unlimited MetroCard, of swiping on some lipstick on the subway, of sitting and breathing together with a dozen or a hundred or a thousand others, in the audience and onstage. (Or, I do know, and it’s weird.)I should probably say that I don’t really want to stay home, and that I’ve felt a fair amount of self-involved panic alongside the it’s-the-right-thing-to-do vibes. I enjoy my work, my family depends on my earnings as a critic, I lean on drama to lift me out of myself and I don’t really know what a week feels like without frantically rushing out the door at 6:45 p.m. and frantically rushing back in again moments later because I’ve forgot the unlimited MetroCard, of swiping on some lipstick on the subway, of sitting and breathing together with a dozen or a hundred or a thousand others, in the audience and onstage. (Or, I do know, and it’s weird.)
But I will stay home. Because it’s right, because it’s responsible, because I don’t have any alternatives and because I have kept my kids home whenever they have come down with strep or stomach flu, because to live in community means to work to protect community. Catharsis or a laugh or even the comforting ritual of rolling my eyes at other people’s alcohol sippy cups is what I could really use right now. I’ll wait.But I will stay home. Because it’s right, because it’s responsible, because I don’t have any alternatives and because I have kept my kids home whenever they have come down with strep or stomach flu, because to live in community means to work to protect community. Catharsis or a laugh or even the comforting ritual of rolling my eyes at other people’s alcohol sippy cups is what I could really use right now. I’ll wait.
Even at the end of “Endgame,” when everyone is seemingly dead or about to die (Beckett, never change!) the play reminds us of our mutual obligation. Here’s a line from the play’s final speech: “It’s we are obliged to each other.” Maybe that’s something for theater makers and audiences to remember, even as we sit at home, apart.Even at the end of “Endgame,” when everyone is seemingly dead or about to die (Beckett, never change!) the play reminds us of our mutual obligation. Here’s a line from the play’s final speech: “It’s we are obliged to each other.” Maybe that’s something for theater makers and audiences to remember, even as we sit at home, apart.