The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ has been hosting plays and shows during the pandemic with specific guidelines. Covid-19 has changed many guidelines for indoor activities which hurt many local theaters. According to MayoArts, some of the guidelines include wearing a mask at all times, social distancing  and hand sanitizer stations located all around the theater. Many of these guidelines have changed the experience of theatre and many people still don’t feel comfortable being in closed spaces, which hurt the theatres in the beginning of the pandemic when all theatres and other entertainment was closed. Mayo Performing Arts is opened for in-person shows, but it may change since cases are going up. Mayo Performing Arts Center provides a virtual arts theater, which is all online and you watch at your house, this is a great option for people that are not comfortable being at the theatre. 

The theatre originally opened December 23rd, 1937 which was the perfect time for the holidays. The theatre was not called the Mayo Performing Arts Center it was originally named the The Community Theatre. According to MayoArts, “The Community Theatre was Morristown’s first first-run movie theatre and remained at the center of Morristown entertainment for four decades.” The Mayo Performing Arts Center redid their thertare in 1994  according to Debbie, they redesigned the whole theater. Debbie recalls some historical moments at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Debbie said  “I remember when they redid the theater and it was a big change in the late 90’s to the early 2000’s.” She recalls that “it took a process to redesign the major parts of the theater.” According to MayoArts, “From 1997-2000, a capital campaign was undertaken to create funding for a comprehensive refurbishing and upgrade of the theatre.” According to MayoArts, “In May 2011, the Theatre officially changed its name to Mayo Performing Arts Center.” 

Now that we have some background  history and facts, Debbie is going to tell us about how the pandemic has affected the Mayo Performing Arts Center and other local theaters. Debbie loves that the Mayo Performing Arts Center provides virtual shows and performances during Covid-19, especially for those who want to do something fun but still want to be safe. This is a great option during the pandemic. Debbie said that “Mayo Arts is  privileged  to have the  opportunity to be opened for now, but that may change as Covid cases go up”  she said.  Debbie said, “during the pandemic all different kinds of businesses such as movies theaters and  New York City Broadway shows  have been  through tough times.” Hopefully in the near future, the theater industry  can recover and people can safely return to the theater and enjoy live performances.