My blog this week is about the effects that Covid19 is having on performing arts classes, camps rehearsals and performances. I want to start by giving you the update on our Coronavirus policy which is these first two paragraphs:

Due to the variable impact of the Covid19 virus on each individual and the recent cases of PMIS among children exposed to the virus, it is unlikely that we will resume traditional classes,camps, rehearsals and productions for the foreseeable future; perhaps not until a vaccine is available. In study after study it has become increasingly clear that the act of singing and speaking loudly produces quite a bit of vapor from deep in one’s lungs, filling the space between people even more than six feet apart, which can then be inhaled by others in the act of drawing breath for their own vocalization. Knowing that it would be difficult for children to remain masked throughout classes, camps and rehearsals hinders our ability to move forward in our usual manner previous to this pandemic. CTSI will follow recommendations by the CDC, the Indiana State Department of Health for K-12 students and local school corporations.

One of the great lessons of theater is that there is always a way to move forward and we will find that path by being flexible and adapting to our current reality. We love our time together. We love the challenges and rewards of being storytellers and performers. Live theater is not going to look the same for some time. Performing Arts classes may not look the same for sometime. CTSI is working hard to become a great resource in online learning to local and long-distance students. This is our effort to bridge the gap between shutdowns and the return to normal life. It’s the best we can do and we will do our best to make it fun, educational, challenging and rewarding. We will do our best to provide a community for our families and opportunities for our kids to continue to do what they love.

It has been a challenging spring. Since this pandemic began to affect us locally in mid-March, we have been hit with several waves of disappointments. First spring shows were canceled, then schools and businesses closed and we were all asked to stay home for eight weeks.The grief experienced by our loss has hit each of us hard as individuals, parents, teachers,consumers and business owners.The shutdowns have thrown many out of work and we’ve been forced to prioritize our spending and change vacation plans. Now that it is time to plan for summer, I too just want to shout the question to the heavens “can we just have our lives back, please?”

The truth is, that even though we are beginning to open businesses and dine inside restaurants, most of us are still very concerned about the risks of gathering with large numbers of people without the protection of face masks. We cannot be cavalier about the health and well-being of our children, parents and grandparents. Have we come this far and given up this much,only to flip it all upside down now? Can we be certain that we are in the clear with slight declines in confirmed infections when there is still such inadequate testing? Parents must answer that question for themselves, and many will have conflicting views. I’d like to offer you my support and sincere understanding that difficult choices must be weighed and made either way.

As for our organization, we must err on the side of caution. We do not intend to be at the center of any flair-ups or new clusters of this dangerous virus. Since children cannot be expected to wear masks for hours each day, we must not hold traditional classes, camps or rehearsals until more can be done to protect our children, be it effective treatments or a vaccine. Instead we will offer more online classes, virtual camps and virtual performances. Our entire industry is feeling similar challenges and making tough decisions, There is no guarantee that things will be sufficiently better this fall. For all of us this is the time to innovate and, I am proud to say, we have in a big way!

In putting together our summer plans it has been my great pleasure to meet with our team of instructors and directors, asking them to help me come up with classes that will engage and challenge kids who are feeling disappointed still to be in their own homes.The team’s collective imagination and creativity is matched only by their determination and dedication to our kids.
We are so very fortunate to know and work with such a talented, intelligent bunch of artists!

I’ve gotten some unfavorable reactions to moving camps online. I know that for many parents summer camps are a child care option and returning to work means they will be needing that daily child care. I have also been told of “Zoom fatigue” and burn-out with the online process, and that is to be expected. Our children have lost out on a lot in these past few months and now that school is officially over, they want things to change. They naturally associate Zoom meetings with school. Maybe there are many activities opening up for them, but if what you are looking for is summer enrichment, then I hope you will consider one of the camps or classes that we will be offering in June and July. When children have too much unstructured time on their hands it is easy for them to feel tired,sad, bored and anxious. I would also like to advise you to remember the saying “use it or lose it”. When theatre kids stop singing,acting and working on their dancing for a long period of time their skills decline, which lowers confidence in themselves, affecting their ability to succeed at their usual level.

We will get through this. One day we will be back to filling stages with excited kids and theatres with enthusiastic audiences. Our kids will be able to hug each other, sing at the top of their lungs in a crowded space, laugh and experience the fullness of physical collaboration in staging a production. Until then, we want to get back to encouraging, challenging and celebrating your kids! I hope you will join us this summer.