As things are opening up and states are moving right along with COVID-19 vaccine distribution, live events (done safely) are beginning to return. This is great news for entertainers—more work and more gigs are available! You may be hesitant to get back to performing as it still does pose a risk to you and others, like any gathering of people. If this is the case, we’ve provided some tips and guidelines you can follow to stay safe while you perform during the pandemic.
- Follow CDC guidelines. We’ve heard all these before. Check your temperature, wear your mask when around others, stay at least six feet from people, wash your hands (frequently) for at least 20 seconds, wear gloves, don’t touch your face, cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, bring disinfecting wipes with you, etc.
- Perform outside. With the warming weather, more outdoor events will be happening! Look out for opportunities to perform in an outdoor, open space when possible.
- Provide your own equipment. Singers should provide their own microphones and cables, and instrumentalists can do the same with their equipment to avoid sharing germs. You should clean your equipment with disinfectant as well.
- Set up a shield on stage. You can use a drum-shield or any plexiglass or plastic shield in front of the stage to block droplets from expelling. This tip is more for singers and wind/brass players, who have more difficulty playing their instruments with a mask on. You can even use a transparent shower curtain!
- Wear masks and face shields on stage. Aside from singers or wind/brass players, other instrumentalists can wear masks on stage, as well as a face shield if you want extra protection. There are masks out there designed to accommodate singers and wind/brass players, so you can look into those too!
- Use a virtual tip jar. You can easily set up a virtual tip jar through several different platforms, like Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, Zelle, and Facebook Pay. This way, you can earn contactless tips! You can also use these methods to receive contactless payment from your client.
- Don’t let people touch your merch. If you’re selling merchandise, try not to let people touch it before purchasing. Consider designating a single piece of merch as a “sample” for people to touch, and then you can disinfect it between customers.
- Take extra care with your gig clothing. If possible, change into your gig clothing on-site, or before you arrive. Be sure to change out of it and put it in the wash soon after the gig before you wear it again.
- Clean your equipment after each gig. It’s a good idea to disinfect all your performance equipment after each gig so you don’t carry any germs between gigs.
Be sure to communicate with your client about following CDC guidelines to keep everyone safe before the gig. You can review stage plots, info about tech specs, and building safety (like ventilation, capacity, etc).
We hope that these tips will help you get back into performing, as we know the past year has been especially difficult for entertainers and musicians. Remember to check out our other blog posts at www.chicagoentertainmentagency.com/blog.
