Reopening of rooms in red zones: the joy and emotion of the cultural environment

Finally! exclaimed Catherine Voyer-Léger, director of the Quebec Theater Council (CQT). We're going to open the champagne.

Indeed, after almost six months of shutdown, the performing arts will be able to resume in Montreal and in regions still in red zones.

A wind of optimism is blowing through society, added Ms. Pintal in an interview on Tuesday on the program Le 15-18.

Even relief on the side of Luc Fortin, interim president and general manager of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec (GMMQ). It was about time, because it was getting long, he said. This is the day when we can start to rebuild on ruins.

Enthusiasm is also evident on the side of Julie-Anne Richard, who heads RIDEAU, the professional association of show presenters. I'm particularly moved. This is a big step forward, she said.

At the director Serge Denoncourt, the joy is tinged with the concern to see Quebec reconfine because of the variants, as is the case of Italy currently. We all have the same fear: restarting a theater and closing it. That would be the worst case scenario, he said.

We have to go there carefully, because our rooms should not close again, said Lorraine Pintal. That would be tragic.

The announcement made by Prime Minister François Legault also gives optimism to the festivals that could be held during the summer. This openness gives us hope, because since the start of this pandemic, we have been told that outdoor activities are always less risky than indoor activities, reacted Patrick Kearney, president of the Regroupement des regional independent artistic festivals (REFRAIN) and general director of the Santa Teresa Festival.

Cultural venues relieved to see the curfew pushed back to 9:30 p.m.

According to information sent to cultural organizations by the Ministry of Culture and Communications just before Prime Minister François Legault's press conference, performance halls and theaters will be able to accommodate a maximum of 250 people per room.

A distance of one and a half meters must be respected between each bubble and wearing a mask will be compulsory for the duration of the performance.

The performing arts community feared resuming performances with the constraint of a curfew maintained at 8 p.m. Finally, it is pushed back to 9:30 p.m. in red zones today. This is double good news, underlined Julie-Anne Richard. This simplifies things for broadcasters.

The fact that the curfew is becoming later in red and orange zones is also a delight for cinemas in the greater Montreal area.

Since the end of the spring break, the situation was complicated for them with the curfew at 8 p.m. and the loss of income caused by the ban on the sale of drinks and snacks, such as popcorn.

A gradual resumption in practice

Although the rooms are authorized to reopen in 10 days, the resumption will be spread over several weeks, the time that everything is ready and that the artists who have already made commitments for shootings, for example, are available.

This will be done over several weeks, estimated Serge Denoncourt. There are theaters that are ready, others that are ready but whose actors are not free, and there are theaters that have to rehearse.

Montreal's Duceppe Theater announced Tuesday evening that performances of its play L'amour est un dumpling will be presented starting March 31. And the play King Dave, already postponed twice due to the pandemic, will resume on May 4. The Théâtre du Rideau Vert invites its audiences on April 20 for the play Le vrai monde?, by Michel Tremblay.

As for the return of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, it will take place on May 4 with Le rêveur dans son bain. At the La Licorne theatre, Guylaine Tremblay will take the stage from March 30 to play Steve Gagnon's Lesétés métro.

According to the feedback I have had, half of the theaters will reopen on March 26 and the other half will need a little more time, explained Catherine Voyer-Léger. Some rooms have a lot of staff to repatriate. It takes organization.

The music scene should be able to commune with audiences again faster than some theaters. Many shows and venues are ready, said Luc Fortin.

The Orchester métropolitain has announced that it will present a concert before an audience at the Maison symphonique de Montréal on March 27.

To reopen while respecting the rules, the Lion d'Or cabaret, a hall located on rue Ontario, in Montreal, has decided to adapt.

As of March 26, a maximum of 64 people will be able to see comedian Louis-José Houde on stage, who will perform twice in the evening. We are going to start early and the shows will be shorter, said Sara Castonguay, the general manager, in an interview on Tuesday on the program Zone économique on ICI RDI.

Present concerts without a bar?

If the cultural community has the feeling of seeing its horizon clear up, uncertainties remain, in particular concerning the reopening of venues with a bar and restaurant permit.

I don't have an answer, said Jon Weisz, director of Alternative Music Scenes in Quebec (SMAQ), which represents some sixty small independent venues. We should have some in the next few days.

To what extent will it be possible to offer [musical] performances without the sources of income [which represent the sale of alcohol and food]? he wondered. If venues don't lose money [opening anyway], they will.

At the end of February, SMAQ had asked Prime Minister François Legault to allow theaters that did not offer fixed seats to reopen. This issue has since been resolved. The seats will have to be assigned, but not necessarily that the seats are fixed to the floor, specified Jon Weisz.

Another question: will the distribution aid measure which makes it possible to compensate for losses linked to unsold tickets due to the more limited capacity of theaters be maintained after March 31?

We have received positive signals regarding the continuation of this very structuring measure for the community, welcomed Julie-Anne Richard.

We understand that the measure will be renewed in the next budget, but until when, asked Catherine Voyer-Léger.

With information from Eugénie Lépine-Blondeau