Governments micromanaged in-person arts events for two years. Now, masks are off, and institutions are on their own

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Canada’s provincial governments have been using all the power of the state to tell citizens that the in-person arts are just too dangerous to attend for the past two years.

Ministers of health have micromanaged cultural institutions, subjecting them to prolonged closures or, in the brief windows where they have been allowed to operate, sudden and often arbitrary changes in restrictions made with little to no consultation.

But now, suddenly, provincial powers-that-be are lifting mask mandates and proof-of-vaccination requirements left, right and centre – and have abandoned theatres, concert venues, cinemas and galleries to set their own health and safety policies.

Which they do have to set, because arts goers a) have had it drilled into them for two years that the arts are dangerous and b) aren’t dummies. Theatregoers know, for instance, that there’s no scientific explanation for why most provinces are still requiring individuals to wear masks while sitting next to a stranger for 20 minutes on public transit – but not while sitting next to a stranger for two hours at a play.

Cultural institutions are left having to figure out not only which policies are right to protect their patrons, but which ones their patrons want, and which ones they will accept. (This will vary mainly on whether the audience is mostly older, or mostly younger.)

Then, there is the question of how to communicate policies to ticket buyers loud enough to be heard amid the highly amplified official messages that masks and proof of vaccination are a thing of the past – but not so loudly to attract the wrath of newly emboldened anti-maskers or anti-vaxxers who might flood social media or, worse, show up and harass staff.

Where in Canada are mask mandates still in effect?

That’s not a hypothetical, alas. Massy Books, a bookstore in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood that still requires customers to wear masks, tweeted this week about how they may lock their doors after discovering a group of Facebook users plotting to flood the business with unmasked shoppers. And Rebel News, a far-right online website, just sent a video blogger to confront the young front-of-house staff at an Ontario cinema still asking for vaccination passports.

Masks are set to be the biggest flashpoint issue. Provincial mandates have been eliminated in all the Western provinces in the past few weeks, and when Ontario lifts its mandate on Monday the majority of Canadians will not be legally required to wear masks in most indoor spaces.

Most theatre companies in Ontario have already signalled that they will continue with mask policies.

Toronto’s commercial Mirvish Productions, for instance, will be requiring face coverings (and proof of vaccination) from its audiences until May 1 at least, which is in line with what’s going on down in New York on Broadway.

At some British Columbia not-for-profit theatres, however, masking is now optional even as proof of vaccination is required. In Vancouver, the Arts Club now only “encourages” audience members to wear a face covering, while the Cultch “recommends” wearing one, according to their websites.

The Belfry Theatre in Victoria, meanwhile, is trying to please everyone. Its coming run of Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes will require masks for performances from March 29 to April 10 – and then make them optional from April 12 to 24.

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We can look to Calgary to find out how the policies will play out in the real world and at the box office. It’s the canary in the coal mine among major Canadian cities, having been officially free of mask requirements since March 1. (Edmonton kept its own mask mandate a little longer.)

On the one hand, you have the route followed by Arts Commons, a large downtown performing arts centre and gallery downtown. Its leadership and that of its resident companies (including the Calgary Philharmonic and Theatre Calgary) met and decided together to keep vaccination requirements and mask policies in place until further notice.

Art Commons’ argument for masked-and-vaccinated audiences is not necessarily about safety, but about contracts – legal or social – that were made with artists and ticket buyers, in some cases, months ago. (Unlike governments, performing arts organizations actually have to plan more than a few weeks in advance.)

Musicians and actors may have agreed to perform under the expectation that then-existing policies regarding masks would be in place, while many spectators had an understanding that they would be sitting next to someone who is vaccinated.

At Arts Commons, there have been a few rolled eyes by patrons who arrive expecting to not have to wear a mask; a few people have asked for refunds at the door to shows.

Vertigo Theatre, a nearby Calgary company devoted to live mysteries and thrillers, is taking a different path: It’s only “strongly encouraging” its patrons to wear masks now.

Evelyn Goj, director of marketing and communications, said that at a recent performance of Sherlock Holmes and the Vanishing Thimble that translated into about half the audience wearing masks – in the lobby, at least.

Interestingly, Vertigo primarily justifies its policy with a legal rather than health argument. same as Arts Common.

The theatre company polled its patrons ahead of the provincial mandate being repealed and a large majority of those who replied said they were either willing to or wanted to continue wearing masks.

But the board of directors – which has a number of lawyers on it – ultimately felt that continuing to require proof of vaccination could open up the company to problems regarding privacy law, and that it was too much to ask volunteer ushers to enforce masking policies no longer backed by provincial guidelines.

Vertigo, too, has had a handful of patrons showing up expecting a different policy to be in place and asking for refunds. It seems, ultimately, you’re going to run into objections no matter what – a situation that the provinces have created and now are doing nothing to clean up.

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