MAINSTAGE | NEW WORK | EDUCATION
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 26, 2021
CONTACT Mical Hutson Marketing & Communications Director mhutson@portlandstage.org mobile.( 207) 283.5007
PORTLAND STAGE CANCELS IS 25TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL DUE TO COVID-19 THE DIGITAL STREAM PRODUCTION WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING FROM DECEMBER 18, 2021 THROUGH JANUARY 4, 2022. Portland Stage has canceled its 25th Anniversary live, in-theater production of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens due to the rise in COVID-19 community transmission coupled with breakthrough cases within its community. A digital on-demand stream will be available for viewing from December 18 through January 4. Portland Stage’s stringent COVID-19 safety protocols are in place to protect not only the audience, volunteers, apprentices, artists, and staff but its unmasked actors as well. The safety measures include mandatory vaccination and masking by all individuals in the facility, except unmasked actors on stage. Any production team member who has had close contact with a positive COVID-19 case is required to isolate and follow a five-day antigen testing regimen that culminates in a PCR test. During “A Christmas Carol” rehearsals, an individual working in the rehearsal room tested positive for COVID-19. Portland Stage immediately canceled rehearsals. During its rigorous testing protocols, several individuals who had socialized with the affected person tested positive with COVID-19. The follow-up screening procedure revealed that those who had followed the theater safety protocols and had no outside social contact with their infected co-worker did not contract the virus. Portland Stage Covid Compliance Officer and Finance Director Martin Lodish said, “as hard as this experience has been, what we have learned is that masking and following the CDC rules for behavior works to control spread. We are successfully recovering from this incident, but as much as Portland Stage would like to return to business as usual, we recognize that with the increased transmission rate in our state, we need to pivot to providing our production of “A Christmas Carol” to a digital-only format. As cases of COVID in our community rise, our goal is to be part of the
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