IMPORTANT COVID UPDATE – January 8, 2021

In respect and compliance with necessary health guidelines, there will be no live attendance performances at PHT until Public Health Orders allow.

Stay kind. Stay calm. Stay safe. Stay tuned.

PHT is committed to the health and safety of its staff, volunteers, artists, patrons, renters, and general community and understands our responsibility as the managers of a facility. To this end, the company will always follow general safety practices regarding the upkeep and sanitation of our facilities, including a regular janitorial cleaning schedule, providing accessible washrooms, soap, and other requirements, safely disposing of waste, and physical maintenance of the building.

COVID-19-Specific Policies

PHT will consistently follow the orders and recommendations from health authorities regarding preventing the spread of COVID-19 to keep you and everyone who enters our buildings safe.

This may include and is not limited to:

• Promoting physical distancing through the layout of spaces, markings on the floors, traffic flow control, signage, and other reasonable means.
• Providing hand sanitizer, hand washing stations, disinfectant spray, and other sanitation tools.
• Requiring face masks to be worn in our facilities (masks are provided to those who do not have them.)
• Installation of clear barriers and other barriers/guides where appropriate.
• Limiting the number of people allowed in rooms and/or temporarily closing the building to the public as required.
• Denying access to the facilities to anyone who may have COVID-19 or is at high risk of exposure, including:
  • Demonstrating any symptoms, including fever, sneezing, difficulty breathing, coughing, or sore throat.
  • Travel outside of the province or country within the past 14 days.
  • Close contact with someone who is a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case.
• Anyone found to be ignoring safety policies, putting others at risk, or making others feel they are at risk will be asked to change their behaviour or leave.

Policies for the general public:

• In-person audiences will only be permitted when Public Health Orders allow.
• Nobody with symptoms, close contact with a confirmed or suspected case, or who has recently travelled outside of the province or country should enter the building. The public will be screened prior to entering the building.
• Anyone entering the building to see a show or participate in an activity is requested to use hand sanitizer or wash their hands for 20 seconds upon entering the facility.
• Face masks are mandatory at all times inside the facility. If a patron is unable to wear a mask for one of the BC CDC accepted-exemptions, they must notify PHT staff in advance of entering the facility and follow any additional precautions requested. This may include denied access to a show and a livestream ticket instead
• Patrons are expected to follow all health orders with regards to contacts outside of their household and only book tickets seated with people who they are safely permitted to have close contact with.

Physically Distanced Seating

• We’ve adjusted our seating plan to allow 2 metres/6 feet between single, double or three-seat bookings. And there’s one row reserved specifically for social bubble bookings of 4 or more, safely apart from other patrons.
• Audience size is limited to 30 people maximum — well below Dr. Bonnie Henry’s gathering cap of 50, and still enough to offer that magical “shared experience” that makes live theatre so alive.

Policies for ticket sales

• Tickets are final sale, however, there will be no financial penalty for cancellations or no-shows due to COVID-related illness. Full refunds or free exchanges will be made.
  Should we need to cancel an event due to COVID-related illness or health orders, we will offer full refunds or the opportunity to donate the ticket value.

Practices for staff, volunteers, artists, and contractors:

• Nobody should come to the building if they have any symptoms, even if they do not think they have COVID.
• There will be no penalties or loss of pay for staff or contractors for staying home.
• Anyone who comes in when they are sick will be sent home and may be subject to punishment or penalty.
• Wash or sanitize hands upon entering the facility.
• Contact tracing: sign in upon entering the building with first name, last name, phone number.
• Sanitation:
  • Wipe down their work station before beginning use and at the end of the day.
  • Wipe down other high-touch surfaces after use. (Printer, microwave.)
• Face masks:
  • Masks are required at all times indoors with the exception of staff seated at their desks working. Staff must make a habit of putting on a mask every time they get up from their desk.
• Staff, Volunteers, Artists and Crew members are required to:
  • sign in at the Stage Door at  the start of each shift/rehearsal period.
  • complete a Health Declaration, including a temperature check.
  • respect occupancy limits for each space.
• Only authorized persons to adjust lights, temperature control, windows, doors, audio/video equipment, etc.
• Artists are permitted to work in the building as long as Public Health Orders allow workplaces to remain open.

Policies for renters:

• Nobody should enter the facility if they have any COVID-related symptoms, have had contact with a confirmed or suspected case, or have left the province or country within the past 14 days.
• If an event must be cancelled due to COVID-related illness or orders from health authorities, deposits and any payments will be returned, less any hard costs to the theatre.
  • Hard costs may include a four hour call to any crew or box office staff booked for the event, if the event is cancelled with less than four days’ notice, any equipment or supplies that the theatre had to purchase or rent specifically for the renter that would not have been reasonably purchased, etc.
• Sanitation:
  • All bookings will have thirty minutes in between for sanitation and airing out of the space.
  • Each room must be sanitized by the renter after their activities are complete. Renters are also welcome to sanitize at the beginning of their rental. Sanitizing spray (Benefect) will be available in each room. Should renters want to use another product, they will need to provide it and check with PHT staff that the product is adequate.
  • Renters are responsible for any sanitation needs during their rental (such as sanitizing the green room between breaks).
• Masks are required at all times indoors, including during physical activities or rehearsals.
• Surcharge:
  • Theatre bookings or ticketed events will be subject to a building sanitation surcharge for each person who attends, whether or not the ticket is paid.
    Bookings for activities that are not ticketed will have a building sanitation surcharge added to their price. This will be clearly delineated in the rental contract.
• Renter’s responsibility:
  • Renters must ensure that their groups follow hand washing and other sanitary procedures.
  • All renters must follow guidelines regarding room capacity and maintain physical distancing during their activities.
• Contact tracing:
  • All renters must provide PHT with a full list of everyone who attended their event, including first name, last name, and phone number. If a complete list cannot be provided in advance, it should be provided the next business day.
  • Privacy: PHT will never use the contact information of renters’ patrons for its own purposes. It will never share this information with anyone except for provincial or local health authorities, if requested, for COVID-tracing. Information will be stored for 30 days and then destroyed.
• Only authorized persons to adjust lights, temperature control, windows, doors, audio/video equipment, etc.

Backstage and Performance Areas

• To maintain the mandated 3meters distance between performers/presenters and the audience we have adjusted the size of the stage to 18’ x 24’.
• Based on physical distancing requirements, we have determined the maximum occupancy of all spaces in our building. At this time for health and safety reasons clients who wish to rent the theatre must adhere to the following:
• Total Number of performers to use the backstage dressing room area – 3
• Maximum Number of performers onstage – 8

We offer a Green Room area with a Maximum Occupancy of 12, however it is not equipped or available to be a dressing room and it is used as the technical access point to the booth.

Policies regarding public communications

• PHT will be open and transparent with the public regarding its policies and practices for health and safety, especially related to COVID. Updated policies will be available online or may be requested via email.
• Cleaning practices and safety policies will be shared on a regular basis through social media channels to promote public confidence.