MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Theater Company (MTC) lit its Performing Arts Center red Tuesday night to raise awareness about the struggles the live entertainment industry faces amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It is among the groups nationwide that went “red” to raise awareness that the entertainment industry is fighting for its very survival.

The effort is a call to action to pressure Congress to extend the RESTART Act, which offers economic relief to the live entertainment industry. The act provides paycheck protection to small businesses that have less than 500 full-time employees and saw a decline in revenue of at least 25 percent during the pandemic.

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It is organized by the group, #WeMakeEvents, which said more than 96 percent of live performers are unemployed and concert promoters have lost 98 percent of their revenue since the onset of the pandemic, according to news reports. The act would cover those in the live entertainment industry.

MTC was able to hold its summer camp with a total of about 45 kids performing in three shows, MTC Artistic Director Mark Morgan said. They took temperatures every day and followed sanitizing and cleaning protocols all summer.

“Everyone was safe, no one got sick,” Morgan said. “The parents were thrilled. The kids were thrilled.”

The three shows — “The Big One-Oh!,” “Sister Act, Jr.,” and “Dear Edwina, Jr.” — are streaming on the MTC website now. MTC performed four socially distant musicals in July and August in the parking lot outside its new Performing Arts Studio

It is looking forward to additional Rising Stage performances, either of Godspell or another musical to be announced, as well as potential musical productions for adult and student performers, Morgan said. Information is updated on MTC’s Facebook page daily.

It is also looking forward to Open Houses and Performing Arts Studio Classes at 5 West Main Street, in the former Signature Design Gift Shop.

MTC will host ‘Open Houses’ each afternoon from Sept. 8 through Sept. 11, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to noon.

“So wear a mask, have your temperature taken as you enter, and come see our ‘Acting Zone’, ‘Dance Zone’, and ‘Music Zone’, as well as get answers to your questions,” MTC said in a release.

Acting Zone

Dancing Zone

Music Zone

Most school plays and musicals are canceled this fall, so there will be no rehearsals to go to. However, MTC is offering 50 different classes in Acting, Dance, Fitness, and Music for 10 weeks starting Sept. 14. Classes will be limited to 10 students, and the schedule can be seen in the charts below and on the MTC website.

MTC said it will continue to follow the following guidelines as outlined by Gov. Phil Murphy:
The Performing Arts Studio has been professionally sanitized.

• The studio will be cleaned and sanitized daily, with common surfaces cleaned between classes.
• Staff members’ and students’ temperatures will be taken as they enter MTC’s Performing Arts Studio.
• Staff members and students will wear face masks or face shields at all times.
• Staff members and students will be encouraged to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer often.
• The studio bathroom will be sanitized by staff members regularly during each day.
• Staff members and students will be kept six feet apart from each other during all classes.

See more stories about New Jersey’s coronavirus recovery.