Hannah Mason Design

    On March 12, 2020, Broadway went dark due to growing concerns over COVID-19. 7 months later, the Broadway League announced that Broadway will remain shut down until at least June 2021. With the continued ambiguity surrounding Broadway’s reopening, theatre-lovers must now turn to alternative methods of experiencing their favorite shows: from professional recordings of previous productions to illegally recorded bootlegs to shows taking place entirely over Zoom. This shutdown, however, has implications beyond losing a form of entertainment; with the shutdown of Broadway came mass job loss for cast and crew alike. And while many Americans have been able to return to work in some capacity since the COVID-19 crisis began, the extension of the Broadway shutdown means actors and production teams will be out of work for over a year before being able to return to work. This thesis will address the question, “How can design curate a platform that streamlines the way theatre is accessed from home?” This research driven process will produce discourse and begin to address possible solutions to the question at hand. The ultimate goal is to examine current and potential new ways that audiences experience Broadway from home, and reframe them in a way that both honors the ethics of theatre consumption from home and financially supports the creators of the work.

THE WORK