We have updated our Covid-safety document in order to formalise and describe what we are doing to keep our actors, crew, and venue visitors/ staff safe. 

This is of course a living document as regulations may change at any time

Venues will have specific safety policies in line with the venue needs and legislation in place at the time of the shows, which we will also share with our cast & crew, and on the box office page. 

​Our document updated for December can be downloaded here: 

​Covid Safety Update
Just a note that over the Festive break, I have obtained a box of lateral flow tests to keep at rehearsals. I have also ordered a hand-held temperature check scanner.
As things stand, when we return to rehearsals after the New Year, we will be asking all actors, crew and anyone else visiting the rehearsal space, to complete a lateral flow test before coming. This will remain on an honour system, but if it tests positive please let us know and dont come in.
If you have run out of lateral flow tests, you will be able to come early and use one at the rehearsal hall.
We also will have the temperature scanner in use as a second line of defence as soon as it has arrived. If you do not wish for it to be used on you, please let us know ahead of time. I will not be recording data on temperatures, basically the attendance book will suffice as "you are reasonably believed to be all clear at the time of attendance".
Please note that we may update safety notes at any time as more information and any change to regulations comes in.
I apologise very much for all of this as it does feel like a lot of privacy invasion, however, it is really important we all not only look after ourselves and each other (after all we all want to make a hell of a great show!) , but also remember that at home or work, many of us have contact with people who are elderly, or have disabilities/ health conditions which make Covid a great deal more dangerous to them, so we don't want to take anything back to them.
Laura Jury

Very important for us- and all theatres and performances
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/society-of-london-theatre-uk-theatre-guidance_54471.html​
#theatre #covid_19 #safety #uktheatre #britishtheatre

(news at https://www.equity.org.uk/news/2021/july/2021-committee-election-results)

From Laura: 
As an actor & director who has always lived in Devon, the fortunes of regional theatre (as well as best practice, making more opportunities for people in the regions and improving things for those involved in it, etc etc) are forefront of my interest!
Do always message me if there's something you want to discuss, ask, input/suggest etc, and I will get back to you as soon as I'm able. ( and if I need to redirect you, I will do my best to point you to relevant help). I don't claim to be an expert (we are all learning and developing, all the time) but I do claim to be someone who really cares.
- Laura
​

Equity have released this news update: Equity responds to Prime Minister's latest Covid press conference

It’s a minefield trying to figure out safety & backups for shows while also trying to be fair to everyone. Plans for returning to physical rehearsals and shows at The South Devon Players will involve more safety measures than “minimum legally required” simply because we want everyone to be as safe as possible in their theatre involvement and in their wider lives- though we hope the measures will remain welcoming to all as well. 

We are still working on the full details, which may be subject to alteration in line with official / verified scientific guidance., however, the draft safety measures for rehearsals are as below:

In a nutshell for rehearsals and castings, we will be keeping good ventilation at all times (if it is a cooler day bring a warm top as we will have windows open and a through-draught. ).
​
People not actually up rehearsing a scene, will be asked, if possible, to wear a mask, and we will be encouraging the use of hand sanitizer on arrival and after using community centre facilities. 
If these are not possible for medical reasons, then we are happy to exempt you. 

We will ask that visitors (people who are not actors/ crew or volunteers) who pop in, are expected in advance and are visiting for a serious reason (eg: trade union visit, journalist, emergency services, etc)
Unexpected visitors will not be allowed to enter. "Do Not Disturb" signage will be on the door for this reason. 

Everyone will be asked to sign in and out, and will be requested to not attend if they are ill. (there will be no non-attendance note for this). Anyone who is self-isolating due to possible Covid exposure, may connect to rehearsal over Zoom.   

We will also encourage people to bring their own mugs for coffees and tea, and, if using community center mugs/glasses, to ensure that they are washed, dried and put away after use. 

Crew will arrive early and check the rehearsal room. It is a shared space with other local organizations, and we will ensure that it is of an acceptable standard of cleanliness before rehearsals. 
Everyone will be asked to help leave it in an equally good condition for the next user groups of the building. 

Costumes will be in individual ziplock bags (not to be shared)

A specific box containing disposable masks, gloves, sanitizer, wipes, disinfectant and other cleaning and protective materials, will be present in the rehearsal cupboard. 
​

Well, it has been a hugely busy autumn for us, and there are dozens of projects, discussions and plannings in the works. 

Halloween and a video project. 
For Hallloween, supported by Arts Council funding via Torbay Culture, we created Spooky Tales of Brixham, a series of short stories, told in the first person by actors playing Brixham ghosts, based on local folklore. It has gone remarkably well, with fantastic audience feedback. 

This side of Christmas, we have two more historical dramas, coming digitally, to our season of online productions  - tickets all on sale now: pop over to our box office page to book now. 

And in addition... 
We are also working with Ivybridge Community Arts on a local history production that they have created, 
planning ahead for further online theatre productions in the New Year (and as long as Covid nessecitates that we work online. Some very exciting projects are in various stages of planning, from castiing to being written, behind the scenes! 

Castings and auditions
We have had a number of casting enquiries recently. We currently have open castings for specific roles within our production of DH Lawrence's The Lost Girl, to complete the compliment of actors. Anyone wishing to audition for those roles, please visit our "auditions" page as we are accepting auditions for the next ten days or so for those roles. 

During December/January, the next big show auditions will be made live on the same site, and announced here in the news page as well as on our official company social media. 

We have recieved a number of enquiries this autumn seeking auditions and "have a go" acting roles in our shows, specifically for children. As announced back in the summer, and as stated on our website in the audtions page, we were forced to close our doors to accepting new child actors, for the time being, for a number of reasons, including repeated concerns that children working with us were not being correctly chaperoned by their parents, and a deluge of very bizarre social media requests (reported to the authorities) requesting us to illegally traffic children from a number of countries, to the UK. In the interests of everyones well-being, safety and legality, we ended up with no choice to close the doors to new child actors.  As always we reiterate;  we are not a childrens theatre company, although the majority of our shows are suitable viewing for all ages, and we do only cast child roles, where a child is specifically required for a role, which is not the case in every show. 

At the moment, with Covid, all auditions take place using self-tapes. We have found that email systems can be very sporadic in filing submitted auditions sent via file-transfer systems to different folders, including the spam folder. While we do our utmost to be vigilant and pick up the auditions, we are still concerned that some may slip through the net, which is not fair on everyones hard work, and therefore we are working on finding an accessible, easy system which allows for easier submission and more efficient casting director access. If you have sent a tape, but not had a response, please always check in with us. 

Leaving aside the current second lockdown; a question that we are commonly asked, usually two or three times a week, is why we have not returned to live "on-stage" theatre, when techincally, (outside of the lockdown) the government allow for it. 

Ticket sales.  - As a professional company, we rely on ticket and programme sales to pay our actor and crew. If, due to social distancing, audiences are cut to 20-30, there is no way that we can even hope to break even on the show, much less pay anyone. The only way in which this could be done, is to charge extortinate amounts per ticket - which would be unlikely to fill seats anyway. 

Distancing for cast and crew - The current advice that we have recieved from our Equity contact, is that actors have to be fully socially distanced from one another on stage, which means in turn that we cannot have a natural dramatic dynamic on stage. Furthermore, every actor has to have thier own dressing room (most venues cannot accomodate this), and live in a "bubble" of a hired hotel before, during and after the show - there is no way to afford this. (Also what about families, other work/ committments, etc?) 

Venues - Many venues are closed, due to the lack of viability in being open under these circumstances.

And while we are all looking forward to a safe return to the live stage, it needs to be safe for the actors, crews, audiences and venue staff alike; and viable. 

​Until then, all our work will take place online. 

The Friends of the South Devon Players

And we have a message to the Friends of The South Devon Players, a fundraising arm run by volunteers who support our work. 
​
This year did not launch things as planned - while we were planning for social events, and all sorts of "perks" for the membership, Covid, and our scramble to keep the company ticking over, knocked that on the head. 

We are however now looking at creatiing "zoom socials" where you will be able to join, socialise, chat, and meet some of the cast and crew. None of these are mandatory for anyone, but will be an option to remain in contact. 

We will also be looking at various other "digital" perks, until we can get back into the live spaces, and the original plans, with an emailed announcement soon. 

If you would like to support our company's  groundbreaking theatre work, and join the Friends, it is only £10 per year, and please pop over to the Supporters Trust .  Every penny raised goes into creating new theatre work; costumes, equipment, publicity materialls, venue hire - and when we get to that stage, union-pay-rates for our actors and crew. 

A few people of late have asked us why, as a professional touring theatre company, we have not returned to live rehearsals and theatres following the Government's annoucement that theatre can return with socially distanced audiences. However, following industry-standard safety advice, this is not feasible. While we fully intend to return to live, as opposed to online, shows as soon as we possibly can, the situation outlined below, is current as of the date of publication; and from the recent official press conferences is expected to continue for some months. 

For theatre shows, it is very simple. We rely on ticket sales to pay our actors and crew. If, for example a 200 seat theatre, to maintain social distancing, can only admit 20 audience members, we are unable to pay our cast and crew. Not paying your cast and crew, and becoming an amdram club, is not something we are willing to entertain as an option. 

Outdoor venues need to have strict marshalling, distanced areas, specialist equipment (which we do not own), as well as strict backstage procedures, and are not currently an option due to people-power and equuipment. 

Behind the scenes, backstage procedures reccomended by unions, and the Health & Safety Execuitive, require single occupancy dressing rooms, one way systems, performing through masks or visors. Physically, theatres do not have that kind of space backstage, where they can be  rather cramped, and historical dramas do not lend themselves well to performing through masks and visors .
Casts and crews should also isolate in a bubble for the length of the show, and for a time before and after, requiring the hiring of a house or a hotel.  Many of us have second jobs, which we cannot afford to take the time off from especially if we are not able to earn from the shows, and the company does not own the funds to hire a house or hotel. 

In rehearsals, actors must stand in taped areas, enforcing the 2M distancing, as well as wearing masks, with staggered breaks. They also should not face one another while speaking in case of exhaling in the direction of the other person. This makes it impossible for any natural dramatic performance. 

Finally, there is the general directive to work from home where you can, and to avoid putting vulnerable people at risk. Many of us work more than one job, or live in households where we have a relative who relies on another job, or who is in an at-risk category. By exposing ourselves, we also put them at heightened risk. 

We understand that some theatre companies and drama schools have returned to creating work, or classes, but it is not something that we find we can safely do for our people. 

We have been very pleased to hear of the UK governments move towards allowing limited indoor performances from August 15th 2020, and the associated guidance on the uk.gov website.
Having reviewed the information as updated, we wanted to set out, for clarity, how this will affect us.
For the time being, we will not be returning to live shows in physical spaces (though once it is safe and possible, we will be back with bells on!) and will be continuing to focus on our Autumn “Virtual season” and while we will regularly review the situation whenever new information and guidance comes out, we are not expecting a return to live physical performances until at least the awaited announcements from the British Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, expected in November 2020.


This decision is for a number of reasons.

• Our actors earnings are usually based on the ticket sales (profitshare), and a lower number of seats available for sale, means less earning potential for our cast and crew. Venues also often rely on sales of refreshments etc, to fund the venue, aside from the hire/ box office split, so it is also difficult for a lot of our regional venues right now.
• Furthermore, while here in Devon, we are in a relatively safe area with lower numbers of Covid-19 cases, our shows do tour, including to venues outside of the area, some of which do have higher rates of infection. We would be very remiss in exposing our cast and crew to these higher-infection rates, or risking one or more of us bringing it back to family and friends.
• A lot of venues, especially older Victorian or earlier buildings (some of our venues go back to buildings from the 1600s and 1700s), do not easily allow for recommended social distancing back/ sidestage, in what is often a quite cramped area.
• A number of our regular venues have taken the decision to be closed until the New Year.
• Rehearsals still need to take place with social distancing in place, either 2 metres radius between people, or 1 metre with masks/ PPE. Actors also should not face one another unless absolutely necessary. This makes it near impossible (or impossible) to rehearse a naturalistic performance involving physical interaction between people and set (what is called “blocking”.), though it would work for simple recitation (which our shows are not).
• Actors and crew, at all times, must remain a minimum of 2 metres from any member of the audience.
• We have looked into the possibilities of performing outdoors, however, again we have encountered a number of issues. In addition to the socially distanced rehearsals/ performance issues, when out of doors, you require additional microphone and sound equipment so that audiences can hear you – sound is easily carried away outdoors. While we could borrow a suitable speaker system, we would not have enough microphones for the whole cast (microphones cannot be shared, there was a serious infection case in Northern Ireland, where a cast shared a microphone). Actors of course need access to changing spaces and toilets (audiences also need access to toilets) which means it is not possible to just “set up in a field”. We have found that every event needs a minimum of a calendar month to advertise, market, re-rehearse, and plan the logistics. If you do not have marketing and advertising in place one month before, as a minumum, you will be unable to sell the tickets in a reasonable enough amount. You need a large space again, to make it worthwhile for the cast and crew, with socially distanced audiences (again, down to earning from the ticket sales, and while most of our actors are from the local region, we also have actors and a technician, who come over from the Republic of Ireland to work in our shows.).
  From our experience of street theatre, this is again impossible as you cannot charge for tickets, meaning the actors cannot earn, and that is an unacceptable situation unless you are an amateur dramatics club, which we are not. We also found doing street theatre years back , even with marshals in place, that people often will push through an audience, climb over barriers, and physically collide with performers, in fact at least one of those incidents - often more- would happen every single performance, which in this situation is utterly unsafe for everybody., for distancing etc. In addition to which, the scale of our current shows, (full scale 2 and 3 hour plays, professionally performed, with costuming etc for a cast of around 10-12 ) does not allow for performance on a street corner.

In the meantime therefore, we have our Virtual Season, which is allowing for some incredible collaborations to form, and some super broadcast theatre with new and established creatives to our team, working almost entirely online. We are also working with the Arts Council and Torbay Culture, to create a filmed performance piece about local Brixham ghosts and spooky tales, which creates some brilliant fully paid work for some of our actors; and we are in rehearsals for physical shows, to return to the physical stage once it is safe, and cost effective. We are also planning further ahead with writing for new shows, and working with more theatre shows through 2021 and 2022.


When we are able to return to the physical stage, our cast, crew and audiences should be aware that there will likely still be some level of restrictions, or additional guidance still in place, and to work with us on those.


We also recognise that there may still be a number of people, who may feel unsure about attending the theatre in person. We are working to run livestreams of our performances (at least one per production) from the venues, so that for those who would rather attend the theatre from the safety of their own home, they are able to, for the same ticket cost. Early equipment tests are proving very positive, and we are now working on linking the systems to high-quality cameras to provide the best audience experience.


There are also a number of other creative plans, the viability of which, will be looked into through the autumn, and developed from this work. (Some will succeed and others not be deemed as likely to work) so we are using this time as usefully as is humanly possible.


We fully realise that some of these “realities” of why we are not doing the “distanced indoor shows”, are hugely disappointing to many, both our audiences and our creatives, however, we feel that it is very important that we do everything in our power to ensure the wellbeing of our cast, crew and audiences, while also continuing to create work and . It is much better to come back to physical shows, a bit later with everyone well and happy, than to have had some avoidable disaster.
With the understandable confusion already appearing in some articles circulating online, regarding the August 13th announcement, we wanted to take the time to explain in detail, where we stand, and the reasons for our decisions.  


​Laura Jury