The Prince George Symphony Orchestra is doing it.
Theatre NorthWest is doing it.
Gypsy Entertainment Group is doing it.
Providing live entertainment during a pandemic comes with plenty of challenges but it seems that the face of live entertainment is smiling in Prince George.
The Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) had their Autumn Revival Bringing Back the Joy of Live Music, fall season featuring four concerts sponsored with a free venue at the Prestige Treasure Cove Hotel.
The approach was to do theatre in the round where the smaller orchestra sat in the middle of the ballroom while tables for up to four people who were from the same pod were placed six feet apart.
"That's been our motto - we're going to go forward until we can't," Teresa Saunders, general manager for the PGSO, said.
"These live concerts have been very well received by people who are just so grateful to have live music back in their lives and who have a place to go outside their homes to do something enjoyable and in a sense something social as they are with other people."
Theatre NorthWest has hosted an extensive series of stage readings where both the audience and the actors on stage are at least six feet apart at all times.
Although Theatre NorthWest has not been able to present plays during COVID because of the restrictions brought about by the pandemic, the professional theatre has offered their stage to those in the community who wanted to present stage readings.
"When we were thinking about what theatre and the performing arts looks like for us in the COVID and post-COVID world we realized that certainly in the short term we are not in a position to be putting on any of our performances for several reasons not least of which it's not financially viable to put a full-scale performance on for 50 people," Marnie Hamagami, TNW's general manager, said.
That was when the theatre decided to host stage readings instead.
"A lot of the works that have been selected to be performed are works that Theatre NorthWest would never do not because they're not good works but because Theatre NorthWest has a specific mandate and those works fall outside of that mandate," Hamagami said.
Their mandate includes doing contemporary works with an emphasis on Canadian content.
There's also the aspect of how the space works to accommodate actors and their audience while following pandemic protocols.
"There's a lot of people in our community who are not ready to come out and that's fine and that's important to recognize," Hamagami said. "On the other hand there are large groups of people who are excited to have an event to attend. We're working hard to make sure they are safe when they come to us - as safe as it's possible for use to make them by following all the protocols."
Theatre NorthWest will always be in compliance with health orders and will continue to offer stage readings as long as they can, Hamagami added.
The stage readings have had such a positive response Hamagami believes this might be something TNW offers to the community even post-COVID as it allows local actors and playwrights to showcase their talents on a smaller scale, making more productions like these possible with a lot less pressure than a full production would bring to those showcasing their work.
Derek Andrews of Gypsy Entertainment Group started providing live comedy at the Rockford ballroom during the pandemic along with his partner Dominic Oliveira.
There are seven local comedians along with headliners that are brought in from around the province that follow the protocols set in place.
"We were wanting to get more people out and actually have some normalization because obviously we do have rules and restrictions but we thought we could still follow those while offering some entertainment and that's why we're doing this," Andrews said.
It's all COVID compliant, he added.
People can see a show in the Rockford ballroom and follow the protocols of a maximum of six to a table, six feet apart and are served food and drink by Rockford staff.
"So people can come in, sit down, watch the show, get served, get up and go home," Andrews said.
"We can only do this until we can't. And when we can't do it any more we'll shut it down. We'll keep going following all the restrictions for as long as we can."
Right now there's not much financial gain and Andrews said there are other reasons they're providing live entertainment.
"People are so grateful," Andrews said. "People come up to us after the show to say thank you or send us messages that say they think it's fantastic that we're doing this, that they've been stuck at home and it was nice to come out in a safe environment and have a laugh and be able to eat and drink."
Gypsy Entertainment Group has also hosted fundraisers over the last six months they've been in operation. They've fundraised for the BC Children's Hospital that helps many Prince George families. They've also fundraised for the Prince George Hospice Society as well as a woman who needed support through a difficult time.
Andrews said they'll keep helping the community as needed.
"Mental health is a huge thing right now, if you look at the overdose numbers - there's a lot of stuff going on pertaining to people just being isolated and not being able to have those connections and not being able to have those interactions they usually have with family and friends," Andrews said. "It's pretty serious stuff right now and if we can keep going and we're not making any money and we're helping people then that's fantastic."
