COVID-19 has changed the way some Iowa City theaters are moving forward. Three theaters share how.

In the basement of 120 N. Dubuque St., about 10 cast and crew members from the Dreamwell Theatre moved about the space, arranging lighting and props and getting into costume.

The theater was doing a dress rehearsal for the play “The Revolutionists” Feb. 23. The play was set to premiere 22 months ago.

The last time Dreamwell Theatre was in the space, Public Space One leased it. Now, the ArtiFactory uses the Wesley Center's basement.

During dress rehearsals, the crew hang up a black curtain along the back of the stage. They set up the new sound system — the theater previously used PS1’s — and then launch into a performance of the play.

Nearly two years since the theater halted in-person shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dreamwell Theatre made its return to the stage Friday. Two Fridays ago, Iowa City Community Theatre made its return.

Behind the scenes, vaccination requirements and careful selection of future shows are just some of the changes local theater companies are experiencing moving forward.

Dreamwell Theatre, Iowa City Community Theatre return

In the summer of 2021, some Iowa City entertainment venues were returning to some form of in-person shows. Riverside Theatre held its annual Shakespeare Festival in Lower City Park and Hancher Auditorium hosted the American Ballet Theatre for an outdoor performance.

Madonna Smith, Dreamwell Theatre president, said the theater had looked into finding a space to do an outdoor show in the fall, but was unable to find a space.

“But we weren't fully considering coming back indoors until we gave it a little bit more time," she said.

Smith said the theater was watching what was happening globally and locally with the pandemic as it determined its February return. In the fall, it seemed to her that people felt safe for the holidays, so by end of February or early March, Smith said it would feel even a little safer for in-person shows.

She said that they spoke with actors and crew about back up dates as well.

Members of the theater also faced health challenges that, if the theater returned any earlier, could put their health at risk.

Elinor Levin, Iowa City Community Theater president, said in an email to the Press-Citizen that the theater did a “soft” in-person show in November as part of the theater’s fundraiser at The Celebration Farm. It also served to gauge volunteers and audiences readiness to return to in-person programming, and gave ICCT a chance to prepare for presenting live theater again, she said.

ICCT returned Feb. 11 with a two-weekend run of "The Triangle Factory Fire Project." The timing of it was both because the theater had watched for COVID-19 numbers in the state and county including vaccination rates, hospitalizations and case numbers as well as the availability of vaccinations for nearly all age groups, Levin said.

While ICCT was able to reopen according to plan, the theater will watch the next four months and adjust as necessary in time for season 67 in the fall, Levin said.

In August, Willow Creek Theatre Company returned to in-person plays with their season “Moving Forward.”

Artistic director Luke Brooks recalled there was gratitude among the cast and crew who worked on that season to be back in the theater and creating. Exactly one week after their first in-person play since 2020 premiered, mayor Bruce Teague declared a mask mandate for Iowa City due to rising COVID-19 cases.

The delta variant and subsequent spikes in August proved that despite them feeling safe despite the vaccine, the threat had increased since they started the production, and the theater needed to respond to that.

Willow Creek adhered to the Iowa City mask mandate. With their second production of the season, “Melancholy Play” in September, the theater engaged in communication company-wide to determine what people felt was safe, Brooks said. The decision was made for the company and the ensemble to wear masks.

“It was this unfortunate process over the course of that two-show season where we were coming in with so much joy and excitement thinking, ‘Yeah, it's really done. We can really move forward’…but as the season went on the definition of moving forward was redefined for us,” Brooks said. “And it was this sense of, how do we process the fact that this is going to be ongoing for us and still create our art in a way that makes us feel safe and makes our community safe?”

Vaccination status, smaller casts among the new normal for theaters

Director Matthew Brewbaker has been attached to “The Revolutionists” since the beginning. The play was cast, but over the course of nearly two years, only one of the four cast members remained attached to the project.

Casting discussions now include something new: vaccination status.

"That's a new challenge for us, you're having to make sure that everyone's vaccinated before you even cast them," Smith said. "And you have to make sure that they're willing to wear their mask during rehearsal, and they're OK with having Zoom rehearsals."

People were not only receptive to Dreamwell Theatre's safety protocols, they were "relieved." Smith said that for some people, not having those safety protocols in place may affect their decision to be involved in the play.

Dreamwell Theatre held about three weeks of Zoom rehearsals, according to Brewbaker, and wore masks during rehearsals.

At ICCT, Levin said all production team members were required to be vaccinated. Masks were worn throughout the rehearsal process as well.

Another change due to the pandemic is the selection in plays produced. Levin said ICCT purposefully chose straight plays, plays that aren’t musicals, because of the “relatively smaller cast sizes, no need for extra performers like musicians,” and out of a concern singing poses for virus spread.

These shows could also be presented virtually if needed, Levin said.

Audience members and volunteers wore masks throughout their time at ICCT's location at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, just like audiences at “The Revolutionists” will be expected to be masked.

“All of these (protocols) will be in place through the end of this season, then the next board will reassess for next season, although we have already announced the selected shows for the 67th season which do include musicals,” Levin said.

As for Willow Creek, shows with larger casts would normally be challenging due to their smaller backstage space, but asking performers to be in such close proximity now was something the theater could not “justify” Brooks said. Shows with smaller casts of five or six will be reflected in the foreseeable future, Brooks said.

Smith echoed Brooks sentiments in doing shows with smaller casts, pointing out that the Wesley Center basement Dreamwell uses does not have enough green room space to accommodate actors waiting together.

'There's a sense that we're trying to be forced to get over it': Providing safe opportunities for artists

As Iowa City Community Theatre watches COVID-19 numbers over the next few months, so is Brooks, who said he is looking at COVID-19 numbers locally to gauge it day-by-day.

Amid the spikes in the omicron variant, Brooks said the theater could not jump back into January programming as usual. With people working on projects at Willow Creek testing positive for COVID-19 after the holiday, the theater returned to all virtual rehearsals, something they never thought they’d be doing again.

The theater emphasized taking COVID-19 tests even for those were vaccinated, and Brooks recalled a week where no one was allowed to come to the theater unless they showed him a negative test.

“There was also this sense of, it would be great if we could be testing every week. It would be great if we could be affording that and affording other measures that guarantee the safety (of everyone), but there was also this sense of, if we were to try and do that for all the artists, the company would be bankrupt within a few weeks,” he said.

Brooks said the theater could not ask artists who are already going “above and beyond” to pay for such safety measures consistently out of their own pocket.

“But those are types of things that systemically could be supported and could be offered on a community level and it's frustrating that those were the types of things that a year ago, it would be, of course we’re going to provide these things on a very regular basis to whoever needs them as fast as we possibly can,” Brooks said.

“Nowadays, there's a sense that we're trying to be forced to get over it, even as the reality is ever-present and is often banging down our door,” he said.

Dreamwell Theatre has spent a few hundred dollars toward the purchase of masks for actors and to have available for audience members, Smith said.

In conversations with artists, Brooks said they feel they are being pushed back into society and that it’s not a choice they’re making for themselves. These artists feel the virus still poses a threat to their health and their loved ones, but because of their financial situations, they have to return and work.

"It's been really frustrating and really heartbreaking to hear a lot of those stories," Brooks said. "It's been nice to be in a position where we feel like we're supporting them as best that we can. But there's the sense of a lot of the artists that come in would rather just wait to do a lot of these projects if it meant that their housing was secure or their means of buying food this week was secure."

'I'm so glad to see it come to life': Returning to the stage

Theater across Iowa City quickly transitioned to virtual programming for its audiences, and created opportunities for the theater community.

While ICCT did an outdoor, socially distanced play for friends and family, Dreamwell Theatre produced the virtual show “Rogues' Gallery” and launched the podcast “The House is Open.”

Smith said doing these alternative programming was essential for her. It kept the Dreamwell community connected and challenged people to try different things and reconsider their interests, Smith said.

"I think it was an opportunity to learn new skills and to continue to keep your skills that you had from getting rusty," she said. "There's still some rustiness. It was (a) very energizing, necessary thing."

But Zoom cannot replace the connection and interaction that is found in person, according to Brewbaker.

The actor and director observed the cast and crew at the dress rehearsals Wednesday.

The feminist comedy is about four women determined to tell their authentic stories during the French Revolution as the promise of death by guillotine looms over their heads.

Audiences will be limited to 30 people, with seats arranged throughout the space in "pods," Smith called it, to promote distancing. Along with Saturday evening's show, "The Revolutionists" will run March 4 and 5.

“I’m so glad to see it come to life,” Brewbaker said.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City theaters return to the stage with vaccines, smaller casts