By: Parisa Yan
When Covid-19 struck the U.S. in early 2020, people panicked for fear of the virus and abandoned live theater. This forced theaters to lay off staff to keep their doors open. They stopped programming and paused the production of plays. The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) had 130 staff before Covid, but now there are only 60 left. Because of this, the Taper could close before presenting Larissa Fasthorse’s play Fake It Until You Make It.
The layoffs worked in that the company is now debt-free, but the budget of the theater had to decrease from $11 million to $8 million.
The pause in programming was a big blow to some playwrights since the Central Theater Group (CTG) promised the Taper’s season to women-created plays. Now, though, the Taper will close in the middle of that season, after the run of A Transparent Musical finishes. It is not expected to reopen for the 2023-2024 season.
“When a theater has to announce that they can’t do as much work, that also means less work for artists, and we exist to work with artists, to invest in artists, and to deliver this work to our communities,” said Jennifer Bielstein, the ACT’s Executive Director.
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