COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies for Virginia Thespian Festival 2022
COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies for 2022
*Suggestions come from viewing other Thespian state policies, Shenandoah University policies, and other local guidance.
*Suggestions come from viewing other Thespian state policies, Shenandoah University policies, and other local guidance.
- Masks will be required by all attendees when indoors (students, directors, chaperone participants, vendors, college representatives, guest artists, adjudicators, and all other festival staff) regardless of vaccination status, on Shenandoah University campus grounds, especially in high-trafficked common areas. There are few exemptions when eating and drinking.
- There will be no eating or drinking in the theatre spaces. Water in a closed container and carefully maintained (outside of booths, away from electronics) is the one exception, with suggested limited consumption, while in crowded spaces. There will be no concessions sold to consume during productions.
- If students are vaccinated and can present a negative COVID-19 test within three days of the start of the festival, students may take off their masks during group performances, speeches, and Thespys. This will be up to individual schools to monitor their students as Virginia Thespians will not require proof of vaccination status. If the above is true, please read the following for more information:
- Shenandoah University is requiring universal masking for all indoor events on campus. Minimal exceptions may include:
- Students performing on stage as part of mainstage performances, one-acts, and showcase events.
- Students participating in college and scholarship auditions where adequate distancing (much greater than 6 feet) can be provided between performers (students) and other participants and judges.
- Shenandoah University is requiring universal masking for all indoor events on campus. Minimal exceptions may include:
- During meal times, if weather permits, groups could eat outside. Otherwise, minimize time indoors without a mask when possible.
- Suggested travel tip: To minimize close contact, school groups can split up into multiple vehicles. Students riding to Shenandoah in private vehicles could contain up to 8 maximum individuals. All passengers will be masked for the duration of the drive. If on buses, try to space students out when possible and mask for the duration of the bus ride when possible.
- Virginia Thespians “is committed to the safety and well-being of its membership and is ready to follow the safety recommendations and mandates of state, local and other public health officials as well as all event host venues. Participants unwilling to follow required safety practices will not be permitted to remain at any host venue. There will be no refunds for any students or adults who are unable to attend. Safety practices are subject to change based on updated state, local and other public health official mandates as well as those of event host venues. We are grateful for your patience and flexibility as we all do our best to follow best practices and keep one another safe.” -CA Thespians
- EVENT CANCELLATION: As long as weather permits, festival will carry on and we will update you if there is any reason for cancellation of the event. Due to the constant changing measures of the COVID-19 pandemic policies, we will let you know if festival is affected by any changes in local guidance or mandates. We are hoping, as much as possible, to have our in-person festival as planned! We will try to keep you informed and work out refund policies as these events come up.
- Individual refunds: If you have paid for festival, but test positive to COVID-19 within the window of likely transmission/ contagion, we ask that you make the responsible choice to remain at home. For cancellations, we will not be refunding or waiving registration fees at this time.
MITIGATIONS AT FESTIVAL 2022
After you arrive at festival, there is a chance a person may start to experience symptoms. Here are the steps we plan to take if that occurs. We are hoping you are taking your vitamins, getting lots of sleep, hydrating, and living healthy to prep for a fun-filled weekend in the meantime so we can hopefully prevent any illness from occurring:
1. If the person is experiencing irregular symptoms from their other current health conditions during this time of the year, they may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. If this is the case, have the individual/ student report to the registration table asking for our co-director, Anthony Cimino-Johnson. He is our health coordinator for the weekend. We also have an emergency medical care and theatrical firearms expert around for the weekend for other emergencies as well.
2. Check your own symptoms to see which you have from the list above. We have touchless thermometers, spare gloves, spare masks, and some other basic first aid items available. The troupe director should be summoned to help with next steps and medical information at this point, if it is a student.
3. Depending on the circumstances, symptoms, etc. an individual/ student may be put temporarily in an isolation room (a designated office space to give the student room to rest and prevent spread to others while we asses the situation) to see if symptoms are prolonged. That individual/ student will get water, a snack, and rest for a bit to see if symptoms continue. We may follow up with a temperature check and wait around 30 minutes before next steps. A parent/guardian should be contacted by the troupe director at this point if it is a student attending with a school.
4. After 30 minutes if the symptoms have improved, there is a chance that individual may be dismissed and allowed to continue back with festival. There is also a change that options for next steps will be presented with parent/guardian permission to proceed if the student is traveling underage/ with a school group.
Thank you for reading and adhering to our 2022 health mitigations. We are in strange times and want to be cautious but still give our students this opportunity to shine at VTF 2022! See you there!
1. If the person is experiencing irregular symptoms from their other current health conditions during this time of the year, they may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. If this is the case, have the individual/ student report to the registration table asking for our co-director, Anthony Cimino-Johnson. He is our health coordinator for the weekend. We also have an emergency medical care and theatrical firearms expert around for the weekend for other emergencies as well.
2. Check your own symptoms to see which you have from the list above. We have touchless thermometers, spare gloves, spare masks, and some other basic first aid items available. The troupe director should be summoned to help with next steps and medical information at this point, if it is a student.
3. Depending on the circumstances, symptoms, etc. an individual/ student may be put temporarily in an isolation room (a designated office space to give the student room to rest and prevent spread to others while we asses the situation) to see if symptoms are prolonged. That individual/ student will get water, a snack, and rest for a bit to see if symptoms continue. We may follow up with a temperature check and wait around 30 minutes before next steps. A parent/guardian should be contacted by the troupe director at this point if it is a student attending with a school.
4. After 30 minutes if the symptoms have improved, there is a chance that individual may be dismissed and allowed to continue back with festival. There is also a change that options for next steps will be presented with parent/guardian permission to proceed if the student is traveling underage/ with a school group.
- A student/individual may opt to get a COVID-19 test locally to make sure they test negative so they can continue with festival
- A student/individual may be dismissed for the day back to the hotel room/ home to see if symptoms improve overnight with the chance of returning the next day depending on circumstances/symptoms.
- A student/individual may be dismissed for the remainder of festival in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Thank you for reading and adhering to our 2022 health mitigations. We are in strange times and want to be cautious but still give our students this opportunity to shine at VTF 2022! See you there!
