Allen Shankles did not initially know if his production of “The Humans” would happen at the Amarillo Little Theatre’s Adventure Space because of the ongoing pandemic.

“We started rehearsing this show in February … We were a week and a half away from opening and they did the home confinement order,” he said. “We stopped, and then we hoped that before our season officially ended on June 30 that we would be able to get the show up. The set was built, everything was ready, and things just kept staying worse.”

“I finally made the decision that we would open the new (2020-21) season with this, thinking that that would be no problem … I’ve questioned whether or not we should be brave enough to put people in a room together and do this, but I think we have to try to start.”

ALT’s production of “The Humans” is currently having a run at the theater’s adventure space, located at 2019 Civic Circle. According to ALT’s website, “The Humans,” a play that won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2016, follows Erik Blake and his family through Thanksgiving and the trials and tribulations that come with family coming together for a holiday.

The theater chose to push its upcoming production of “Matilda” to December, making ALT’s next production being “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” beginning Oct. 22 on its mainstage.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, Shankles said officials with the theater will be taking certain safety precautions for the duration of this production, including taking temperatures and requiring mask-wearing for all attendees, social distancing by limiting the capacity to 65 seats for each performance and not selling any concessions.

Even through the rehearsal process, actors have been taking extra precautions to put on this production in as safe of a manner as possible, Shankles said.

“This cast has been wonderful. We have all been in masks, of course. It’s difficult to rehearse and do theater in a mask. But we are going to require that all of our audience members are in a mask because our cast is going to take masks off for the performance,” he said. “Even our cast, I’m having them come dressed and made up, so they don’t sit in a communal area and do makeup, which is part of the fun of the theater experience … We are just here. We are sort of like contractors right now. We are just coming in, doing the show, and getting the hell out of dodge.”

Connie Cannady, a cast member for the production, said as soon as the pandemic hit, she was not sure if she would be able to continue in the production.

“My children were less excited about me being in a play where there might be an opportunity that I get (the virus),” she said. “I’m in the at-risk group. I was the first one to say, I don’t think I can continue. But immediately, we stopped rehearsals as it was.”

For Jo Early, the pandemic brought her the opportunity to be in the production, replacing an individual who could not perform because of an educational opportunity. She said it was scary for her because the cast had already done some work before she came, but since she came on, it has been working well.

Since rehearsals have resumed, this production has been Cannady’s outlet during the pandemic.

“For me, I don’t go anywhere else,” Cannady said. “This is it, and I’ve been very careful during this pandemic. It’s a wonderful outlet for those of us who just need to see and express ourselves.”

Early said this is a very appropriate play for individuals to see during this pandemic.

“It’s a good way to kind of escape that human reality for a moment without ever forgetting that this is still something that we have to be cautious of, because we are all human,” she said.

Shankles said “The Humans” deserves to be seen by a live audience, a production that the Adventure Space is known for.

“I think we all just need to get lost in the world of the theater again,” Shankles said. “There’s inspiration and comradery and inclusiveness, and all those things make the theater a wonderful place to be. So here we are.”

There are performances at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased online at https://amarillolittletheatre.org/current-show/.