Page 23 - CLT072020

INSURANCE LAW JULY 20, 2020 ¦ S-23

theater companies have produced in order to remain days. But after the reading received a rave review
on the cultural radar. In one notable case, Red Bull in The New York Times, the company entered into
Theater, a well-regarded Off-Broadway company, a subsequent agreement with SAG-AFTRA that
was forced to postpone a free livestreamed reading allowed it to keep Tartuffe available on YouTube
of the 17th century tragedy ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore through July 12, 2020. (Of course, streaming con-
following objections by Actors’ Equity that Red Bull tent can easily be illegally “captured” and posted
had not received Equity’s permission to produce the elsewhere online, thereby creating issues of copy-
reading, leading some to wonder whether Equity right infringement.)
actually had jurisdiction over the reading since it Throughout the shutdown, many theater aficiona-
was not being performed at a theater. dos have lobbied for the Theatre on Film and Tape
Some theater companies have entered into stream- Archive (TOFT) at the New York Public Library for
ing agreements with Actors’ Equity to compensate the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center to make its
actors in exchange for the right to sell “virtual tick- extensive collection of video recordings of Broad-
ets” to allow people to watch a performance. For way and Off-Broadway productions from 1970 to
instance, after the Broadway shutdown began, Off- present available for free online viewing. Alas, that
Broadway’s Rattlestick Playwrights Theater held a is extremely unlikely to happen because the library
few additional performances of only obtains the right to record
The Siblings Play at half capacity. stage productions for archival
Then, under a temporary agree- purposes and make them available
ment reached with Actors’ Equity, only to people doing research.
Rattlestick made a recording of While the 41 theaters of Notwithstanding recent anom-
the production available online for Broadway remain dark,
theatergoers who had already pur- the New York theater alies such as Hamilton on Disney
Plus and Springsteen on Broad-
chased tickets for performances community has been left to way on Netflix, Broadway shows
that were being cancelled. A lim- grapple with challenging have rarely been filmed for com-
ited number of additional “View mercial release due to prohibitive
legal issues relating to
at Home Tickets” for new ticket governmental directives, costs and a longstanding fear that
buyers were also made available, filming a show will dilute the
but with the proviso that the total contracts, insurance demand to see it live. However,
number of online viewers could coverage, refunds and some shows that were previously
not exceed the theater’s seating filmed and released have been
other issues.

capacity for each planned perfor- made available for free streaming
mance. by institutions such as New York’s
Most livestreamed theatrical Metropolitan Opera, London’s
content, however, is being presented pursuant to the National Theatre, and Ontario’s Stratford Festival
approval of the Theatre Authority, a non-profit or- (which assumedly already possess all the necessary
ganization that permits members of Actors’ Equity intellectual property rights and union clearances).
to perform for free in connection with charitable When Broadway theaters are finally able to re-
fundraisers. For example, on June 27, 2020, Moliere open, questions will linger regarding what health
in the Park, a new not-for-profit theater company, and safety measures will be needed to adequately
presented a free livestreamed reading on YouTube of protect both theatergoers and theater workers.
Moliere’s 17th century comedy Tartuffe pursuant to Unless the issue of liability over transmissions of
a Theatre Authority agreement. COVID-19 is addressed in future legislation, theater
According to co-founding producer Garth Bel- owners and producers may proactively seek to limit
con, the Theatre Authority allowed the company any potential liability. Just as the back of a baseball
to keep Tartuffe available online for only up to four
¦ Continued on PAGE S-24

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune