44th Annual SFBATCC Awards Gala To Go On As Scheduled

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle's 44th Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards Gala, to be held on Monday, March 30, 2020 at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco, will go on as scheduled.

Circle President Barry Willis released the following statement this evening:

"The coronavirus outbreak has many people understandably concerned about the potential hazards of large public gatherings. To date there have been a couple hundred cases in the United States, a nation of 350 million people. The percentage of infected people is therefore exceedingly small, and we feel confident that with careful attention to personal hygiene and the disinfection of common facilities, we can proceed with our 44th Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards Gala without undue worry.

We intend to open the doors to the fully disinfected Victoria Theatre at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 30 and celebrate as usual. We encourage all attendees to minimize hugging and handshaking, to wash their hands frequently, and come equipped with hand sanitizer, etc., just as they would at any other current event.

Most important is to avoid touching your face after shaking hands with others. As with many other communicable diseases, some people can be carriers of the virus without exhibiting symptoms themselves.

We are replacing our usual buffet of hors d-oeuvres with a large variety of single-serving, individually wrapped snack items. There will still be plenty of wine and beer.

If you're not feeling well the night of the Gala, as much as we'd like to see you, we'd rather you stay home and take care of yourself. If your name is called, we'll get your award to you.

We are confident that with more-careful-than-usual precautions we can host our event without contributing to the outbreak. We look forward to celebrating with the Bay Area's diverse theater community on Monday, March 30.

See you at the Gala!"

Barry Willis

President, SFBATCC

For updates on the Gala, ticketing, and a complete list of nominees for the 44th Annual Awards, go to www.sfbatcc.org