But few have suffered as much as groups whose livelihood Is built around gathering large numbers of people In a room to experience the arts. Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley’s venerable professional theater that rivals in quality much larger production companies in the Bay Area, has been among the worst hit.
On the heels of having to shut down productions of playwright Kate Cortesi’s Love in March and a pivot to streamed performances of the play, MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis announced the cancellation of the remainder of MTC’s 2019-202 season, including Jordan Tannahill’s Botticelli in the Fire, which was scheduled to run April 23-May 17, and Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over, originally scheduled June 18-July 12. All performances have been canceled, and MTC is following up with current ticket holders to detail their options, including the option to donate the value of the ticket back to the organization.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” Minadakis said, noting they organization had to lay off roughly half of its staff in the hopes of weathering this crisis financially intact and being able to “provide stability, artistic work, and a place of community again as soon as possible.” “It took us some time because we wanted to make sure we had as much information as possible. Rather than moving these shows around or deeper into the summer, we decided that we will cancel the remaining performances, and we will be focusing on ways to move forward over the summer. We’re hoping to bring much of our company back when we start performances again.”
“We will be going dark physically, in our space, until the fall,” said Minadakis in his statement. “During this time, we hope our community will stay with us. We will certainly be finding new ways to bring audiences content. We’re going to leave our ghost light on as a symbol of hope that we will be back in this space, soon, hearing new plays from new American voices; plays that will help us get through this time, and help us build a stronger community when we’re back together.”