Friday, October 21st 2022, 8:41 pm
While many businesses are starting to bounce back from COVID-19, a local nonprofit said they're still struggling.
COVID-19 is taking center stage at Oklahoma Shakespeare.
“You have to have drama. You can't get away without drama,” Tyler Woods, Oklahoma Shakespeare executive producer said.
Tyler Woods said COVID-19 unfortunately has been a main character in many of their productions and theater in general.
“We just did Hamlet in our outdoor theater and that was a show that was also canceled due to COVID. We had six out of ten performances because five of our cast members came down with COVID,” Woods said.
Blithe Spirit is underway at Oklahoma Shakespeare, the first indoor production since COVID-19.
“It's a comedy about a gentleman whose wife passed away, he got remarried, his deceased wife comes back to haunt his life and chaos ensues, comedy ensues,” Woods said.
It’s a production where COVID continues to play the antagonist haunting the cast. Despite taking safety precautions like frequent COVID testing, COVID is impacting their staff once again. Artistic Director Lance Marsh pitching in.
“The company thought, ‘Well you've been in the room for three weeks and you're a professional actor too, so carry the script and go on Lance,” Marsh said.
“We can no longer afford it, I’m just going to put the cards on the table, we can no longer afford to cancel shows,” Woods said.
Oklahoma Shakespeare is a nonprofit.
“A box office only pays for act one basically,” Woods said.
Woods said they survive off of donations, and they recently started selling local art and alcohol to bring people in. He said they're leaning into the chaos encouraging folks to come out to see them overcome adversity
“We're living in very interesting times so we should create very interesting art,” Marsh said.
Blithe Spirit is underway right now and ends November 5th. If you want to learn more about how to see the play, click here.
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