We may soon be able to attend concerts and plays again in a safe way thanks to a new design for a pop-up, adaptive venue that could move from location to location bringing joy and happiness with it wherever it goes.
As Fast Company puts it:
“COVID-19 has impacted every industry on the planet. But live music and theater, in particular, have taken a hit. As large concert venues shuttered and artists stayed home instead of touring, Pollstar projected that 2020 shutdowns cost the global concert business $40 billion in revenue.
But a new startup, founded by industry vets, hopes to save live performance even during pandemics. Called the Vertical Theater Group, the company’s mission is to launch touring performances, which travel town to town almost like a circus. Instead of bringing a tent, they bring a pop-up, prefabricated theater, which mandates social distance by design.
The building itself is designed by Stufish Entertainment Architects, which has crafted tour stages for everyone from Monty Python to Beyoncé. Its core premise is to turn nearly every seat into a private balcony, squeezing groups of 4 to 12 people into each pod, adding up to a max capacity of 2,400. The floor level could be seated with six feet of social distance, or packed tighter if and when a pandemic isn’t our chief concern. The structure is made to adapt to acceptable densities over time.”
Maybe it’s because I just watched The Greatest Showman which was a both a musical and a call back to the traveling circus era but I absolutely love this idea. Not only is it COVID friendly but it’s also a great way to bring performing arts to far flung locales in hard to reach areas that wouldn’t ordinarily have the means to build a full fledged theater venue.
Greatest. Idea. Ever. 
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