COVID-19 Update, April 20, 2020: It's the Testing, Stupid.

Good morning. The fifth week of lockdown begins.

A deal is near in Congress for more small business aid that includes money for hospitals and testing: tinyurl.com/yboz2p85. Of course, the rollout of Federal COVID-19 relief has been, at best, rocky: tinyurl.com/y9mexazk.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announces antibody testing in New York: tinyurl.com/ybkcqgdr. Nationally, testing lags because of bureaucratic errors and presidential foot-dragging: tinyurl.com/ycvr7apd.

Cratering oil prices, caused by the pandemic, caused stocks to tumble 500 points: tinyurl.com/ycvzcnk9.

In Florida:

With the state reporting more cases than 42 states, Jacksonville reopened its beaches and citizens flocked to them: tinyurl.com/ycalrbcw.

As of April 16, the state had processed only 4% of its COVID-19-related unemployment claims: tinyurl.com/yc8zc7y3.

The state's gig workers may get to apply for unemployment, long after everyone else: tinyurl.com/ydhxcwqp.

Even as SeaWorld furloughs 90% of its employees, its executives get $6.8 million in stock options: tinyurl.com/y9sazwyr.

In New York:

In this interview, Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, notes that the theatres will need six weeks to come back after the all-clear sounds. She adds that social distancing arrangements won't work, financially, and livestreaming is not a commercial option: tinyurl.com/yaq59qwh.

The Actors Home in New Jersey has not escaped the devastation affecting the nation's nursing homes: tinyurl.com/y83hcmfg.

In Nevada:

Does Macao offer a model for Vegas' recovery? tinyurl.com/yajnlcjl.

Gaming experts weigh in on what a recovery might look like: tinyurl.com/ybyqq8lx.

In the UK:

The government's job retention scheme has been extended through the end of June: tinyurl.com/yc8c3yoy.

And the Queen has cancelled her birthday celebrations: tinyurl.com/y9syxfua.

Meanwhile:

A tough, but realistic, assessment of the situation, going forward: tinyurl.com/yautrbjv.

Researchers at Harvard say that for the economy to reopen in mid-May, the rate of testing has to triple: tinyurl.com/ycg3hqmt.

Despite what the President says, Americans working at the World Health Organization sounded the alarm about the coronavirus long before he reacted to it: tinyurl.com/yas2vyj2.

Those anti-lockdown protests in several cities are being driven in large part by pro-gun groups: tinyurl.com/yahe9k6h.

The President wants the nation's cinemas to reopen soon, but the studios are keeping the summer blockbusters on ice: tinyurl.com/y72tm7ag.

Live Nation rolls out the details of its ticket refund program: tinyurl.com/yaz55tfb.

Netflix expands its hardship fund to $150 million: tinyurl.com/y9rlr7hh.

Read this nuts-and-bolts examination of a dance company's budget and you'll get a sense of what small troupes and theatre companies are up against. They certainly do a lot with very little: tinyurl.com/y87za5ve.

Members of the Chicago theatre community wonder what the future holds: tinyurl.com/ybokynew.

Broadway leading man Nick Cordero has undergone a leg amputation to survive: tinyurl.com/ycfrajuc.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic says even when there is vaccine, he doesn't want to take it: tinyurl.com/ycdgludk.

Legislative matters:

Nevada's Congressional delegation pushes a bill to help small casinos: tinyurl.com/yd8odw4v.

IATSE has published a list of its priorities for subsequent COVID-19 relief legislation: tinyurl.com/ybhh79wx.

Losses:

Giuseppi Logan, free jazz reeds master: tinyurl.com/ycwmzxbu.

David Bowie bassist Matthew Seligman: tinyurl.com/ycu49w8u.

Mobilizing:

The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation has announced the recipients of its special COVID-19 response grants for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists who have had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures. Earlier this month, in response to theatre closures due to the pandemic, the foundation announced its decision to reinvent the means by which it would distribute funds allocated for its 2020 Idea Award for Theatre. Supplemental funding from the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation supports additional grants to playwrights, through administrative services provided by New Dramatists. The Foundation has awarded 80 grants of $2,500, a total of $200,000, for theatre writers impacted by the crisis.

That contested Disney concert for Broadway Cares raised more than $600,000: tinyurl.com/ycp5prn8.

Even as protests rage and Floridians take to their beaches, Broadway leading lady and writer Heidi Blickenstaff and her husband, attorney Nichols Rohlfing, have announced the launch of GenZStayHome, a new public service announcement and campaign featuring the GenZ generation from nearly all 50 states and beyond, discussing the importance of staying home in an effort to keep themselves from unknowingly spreading COVID-19. Check out the inspirational video at tinyurl.com/ya8l7p3j.

Training:

Antelope Audio is initiating a campaign called Together We Create to support the audio community with activities aiding creativity and offers to ease the music-making journey while staying safe at home. "Stay at Home and Mix with..." is the company's new live stream series, allowing anyone to learn the tools of the trade utilized by some of its favorite producers and audio engineers. Engaging with these YouTube sessions will yield valuable mixing tricks and recording secrets. Meanwhile, more product-orientated live streams offer insight on how to make more effective use of some of the company's hardware and software. "Stay at Home and Mix with..." stream scheduling is available -- alongside past stream replays -- here: tinyurl.com/y9f46gfs.

Martin Audio is hosting a virtual trade show: tinyurl.com/y825cbbc.

NAB Express, taking place May 13 - 14, is an attempt at putting a trade show online. Check it out at: nabshow.com/express/.

The always-inventive folks at MAGNUM have posted advice on taking your virtual happy hour to the next level: tinyurl.com/ycxzdefl, tips on getting your focus under control during lockdown: tinyurl.com/yahp9whf, and beginner tips on getting started with live streaming: tinyurl.com/ybzzyc3u.

The next Sennheiser Academy roundtable, on April 21 at 11:00am ET, is all about theatre sound. Register at: tinyurl.com/y9xlnauw.

Company news:

This a quickie, but Available Light has an upbeat message: tinyurl.com/y7fh4r7g.

Cancellations/postponements:

Comic-Con, schedule for July 23 - 26 in San Diego, is off: tinyurl.com/ybtr5o3q.

New York Theatre Workshop has officially announced that its season has concluded. This includes its mainstage productions Sanctuary City and Three Sisters, productions at the space known as NYTW Next Door, and summer residences at Adelphi University and Dartmouth College.

The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera summer season is off: tinyurl.com/y7que7lk.

Taylor Swift has pushed her remaining Lover Fest concert dates into next year: tinyurl.com/y837wkup.

Entertainment: I Heart Broadway has launched its Saturday matinee series: tinyurl.com/ya3o7sps.

New York's Irish Arts Center is streaming a variety of readings and musical performances: tinyurl.com/yblkns9d.

La Jolla Playhouse has a new series of digitally delivered productions as part of its acclaimed Without Walls (WOW) program: lajollaplayhouse.org/.

Loop Media, Inc., a streaming media company focused exclusively on premium short-form video, will host its virtual Loop.tv Music Festival. In partnership with Twitch, a service and community for multiplayer entertainment. On April 25th, audiences can stream rising artist favorites directly in-home via the Loop TV channel and Twitch's main page. The festival will feature live streamed performances of artists including Hanson, Francesco Yates, NETTA, Louis York, Kierra Sheard, Sharaya J, DJ Lizzy, Shawn James, and many more. Viewers are encouraged to make donations benefiting MusicCares through Tiltify to help support the artists involved in the festival. A portion of Loop TV's sponsorships will be going towards MusicCares to help all the artists and musicians affected by COVID-19. Talkhouse, a podcast and live event media company, will partner with the event to create new live podcast content. loop.tv/pr_festival.

Ontario's Stratford Festival is launching a film festival offering free streaming of 12 Shakespeare productions captured as part of its Stratford Festival on Film series. This is the first time the full-length versions of these productions have been available for free. It launches on Shakespeare's birthday, April 23, with King Lear, directed by artistic director Antoni Cimolino and featuring Colm Feore in the title role. Each film will debut with a 7:00pm viewing party and remain available for free for a three-week period on the Stratford Festival website at www.stratfordfestival.ca/. There will be a new film each week, each available for three weeks.

New on the Playwrights Horizons series of podcast dramas is Gather, by Robert O'Hara: pod.link/1506030952.

That's all for today. Stay safe.

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