Understudies nab starring role in keeping theatres open amid Omicron

Travis Seetoo didn't have his phone on him. He was out on a bike ride and happened to pull into the grounds of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., when he got grabbed by a stage manager. 

"She's like, 'You're on!'" Seetoo recalls.

Just like that, Seetoo was ready to act — called up as an understudy for a show last year after another actor started showing COVID-19 symptoms. Seetoo said it was the first instance of a Shaw actor getting called up because of that. You aren't allowed to come to work at Shaw if you have any symptoms.

As Ontario theatre companies start their seasons amid a sixth wave of COVID-19, the odds of this happening have increased — and so has the reliance on understudies. Shaw is having members of its company understudy more roles this year because of the Omicron variant.

"It could happen at any time now," said Seetoo, acting in two shows at Shaw this season and understudying an additional five roles in those two plays. "You certainly run your lines a lot more. You try not to forget them."

Often times, understudies are in the show already, playing another character or part of the ensemble.

Stratford Festival has hired more actors this season and also has more understudies than usual. It was set to start previews of the musical Chicago last week, its first show of the season.

But three performances were cancelled after eight cast members tested positive for COVID-19.

Shows were able to resume Tuesday, with understudies replacing two roles.

Alex Mustakas is currently in the casting process, paying much more attention to hiring understudies, particularly for his musicals.

He's artistic director for Drayton Entertainment, which is putting on 15 different shows in six venues around southern Ontario this season, in places like Drayton and St. Jacobs near Kitchener-Waterloo and Grand Bend on Lake Huron.

"Understudies are the heroes of live theatre," he said. "The alternative is no theatre and I don't think that's an option anymore."

Still, Mustakas worries. His son and wife contracted COVID-19 recently and he had to isolate at home. He spent all that time thinking what would happen if he were putting on a show right then. Drayton's season doesn't start until late May.

Then there's the cost. Understudies are an added expense, often out of reach for smaller theatre companies with tighter budgets, or shows have smaller casts. There are understudy rehearsals that need to be run, hard to do if the show is only on for a short stint or has a short rehearsal period.