Arts groups: Seating caps unworkable

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio performing arts groups financially devastated by the coronavirus shutdown received good news this week, tempered by a harsh economic reality.

A public health order from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine greenlighted performances again, while setting strict audience caps that theater groups say aren’t economically viable — a position with which even the governor himself agrees.

Outdoor entertainment facilities are limited to at most 1,500 people, or 15 percent of a venue’s capacity, whichever figure is smaller, according to a public health order issued Wednesday by DeWine’s interim health director Lance Himes.

Seating in indoor facilities is limited to 300 people, or 15 percent of a venue’s capacity, whichever is less. In reality, those indoor limits could be even smaller depending on how social distancing is maintained in small theaters.

“When you have a business that’s been closed six months, only to reopen at a 15 percent capacity, it’s obvious to everyone that that’s not a survivable rate,” Angela Meleca, the executive director of Ohio Citizens for the Arts, said in an interview Wednesday.

DeWine’s guidelines came despite recommendations by Ohio theater directors and arts advocacy group Ohio Citizens for the Arts that he should consider less strict limits or leave decisions up to theater groups altogether.

“We know that the numbers we have set for a commercial production is probably not going to work for them,” DeWine acknowledged, making it clear that the priority is allowing high school productions to go forward.

“The social distancing aspect is first and foremost what we’re focused on, for people to be spaced out safely,” said Dan Tierney, the governor’s press secretary.