After the news broke that Broadway was not opening any theatre's doors until at least Labor Day and the growing number of plays and musicals being streamed on various sites, I started thinking about what that meant for my industry.  

Releasing filmed theatre is an idea many have had. For example, 'Hamilton' is going to be streamed on Disney Plus come this July. Although this was already planned and in the works before quarantine many other productions have warmed up to the idea; hosting recordings of their past performances on various sites or rushing to film a current show not yet opened. As a consumer I am excited to have new content to watch, but as a professional in the industry I have a few questions. Are those working behind the scenes, the wardrobe, stage technicians, etc. being paid residuals? Are the actors? Can those filming during quarantine keep safe social distance? Finally, what does this filming mean for theatre once things get "back to normal"?

I have a few friends in the industry and Actor's Equity, so I sent out a quick text to them to see what they thought about streaming theatre. The overall consensus was that we were all happy that streaming agreements were something being discussed by our industry. Streaming is new and there are so many different opinions on what is best for those working in theatre in regards to agreements and working on a filmed theatre show. Another question we were all interested to hear discussed: "when does the filming and streaming of theatre become film"? I am looking forward to hearing more from the different theatre unions and others in the industry about this new frontier in theatre. 

Reference:
-Curtains for Broadway: No Shows Til Labor Day, at Least- NY TIMES
-'Hamilton' movie will stream on Disney Plus on July 3 - NY TIMES
-How the Entertainment Industry is Dealing with Coronavirus  -Backstage
-How to Support a Theatre Company and Stream a Show While Social Distancing -Playbill

More and more events and public gatherings have been canceled or postponed indefinitely thanks to Covid-19. The MET Gala 2020 is one of these events that has been postponed. The gala raises funds for the museum and Costume Institute each spring. Although they will be forgoing that revenue in May, I believe it is in the best interest of the public for the gala and many events like it to be postponed. No one has given further details about when the Gala may be rescheduled (as of writing this blog according to CNN), so may I throw a few ideas out there for the organizers to ponder in response to the current situation. 

Now, these ideas are not entirely my originals; many others have voiced opinions on how funds to create designs, food, themes should be otherwise allocated. Others have suggested how themes should be created to mirror current world or environmental crisis. I think there is a way to combine many of these different ideas to create a truly celebratory gathering once we all emerge from our social distancing. 

Firstly, I put forward for your consideration, a new theme. One that addresses the climate crisis, fosters a creative mindset, and would potentially allow funds that were going to be used to purchase materials, etc to be allocated to charities or those in the industry who are out of work because of Covid-19. I propose that all designers who participate in creating extravagant looks for the MET Gala use off cuts, old findings, re-purposed pieces, etc to create their brand new looks. They could even used recyclable items in their creations. It would be a ReNEWed MET Gala. Some in fashion are trying to champion slow fashion or sustainable fashion; a fashion-centric event such as the MET Gala would be a great way to bring more in the industry on board. 

As a by-product of no new materials being sourced or produced, money that might have been used for such items could then be donated to either climate crisis prevention OR those in the fashion and entertainment industry who lost jobs because of our currently needed isolation practices. Many in fashion, film, and theatre are not the big names you see on labels or posters, they are the stage hands, stitchers, and office workers who work behind the scenes to make the end products you see. They can not work from home so they have been jobless through no fault of their own. 

As I mentioned earlier, many have expressed similar ideas and wishes for the 2020 gala. Although I understand there are always operating costs, technicalities, and logistics that must be sorted out, I feel these are a good starting point. It is a path we as creatives should strive to take. Fashion and entertainment are used in their best sense to foster understanding, appreciation, and discovery. By recycling, reusing, and renewing past gala pieces and by using funds to help support those in the industry, we can come together on the first Monday of <Insert Month Here> to celebrate all of our contributions in our society. 

The massive Halloween costume stores started to pop up all around New York late September. I was looking for some quick item for a show I was designing so I decided to just pop into a few to see if I could grab the item. While combing the racks and racks of bagged costumes I started to form a question that began to bother me greatly. 

If a costume company is selling a character's costume from a well known tv show or movie, does the costume designer for that production get paid/recognition? (ie: There were about four or five different costumes for Eleven from Stranger Things and all I could think of: "Are the designers getting paid for her deign work for each of these being sold?")

My first stop was to figure out if designs for movies and tv shows had any legal protection. Here are a few things I found:

• "In general, there is no copyright protection for the shape of clothing, and that includes many costumes. In copyright law, “useful articles” don’t get copyright protection because they are considered functional, rather than aesthetic. This means nobody can own a copyright in something like the shape of an automobile or a television set". -The Reeves Law Group
• "In a 1989 case, a court of appeals refused to protect costume designs even though the company had registered its costumes as "soft sculptures" with the Copyright Office."..."There may be instances where a movie company that owns a series such as Indiana Jones could complain that your costume sale -- for example, hat, jacket and whip -- could violate trademark laws if you used the name of the character in your advertising. -Dear Rich
• "...how can something (like clothing) that is not itself eligible for copyright protection be an infringing derivative work? However, a very similar argument was made in the Batmobile case, where the defendant was making and selling actual cars, and the court rejected it, reasoning that the Batmobile was under copyright and therefore cars that looked like the Batmobile were copyright infringement. The same would presumably go for costumes." -Knowmad Law

​From what I could find, even if the character is copyrighted or trademarked, the clothing they are wearing can not be. The patterns or artwork on them could potentially be, but the clothing itself can't. 
I also looked if I could find any information about if designers are involved in the creation of these bagged Halloween costumes of their costume designs. I couldn't find any information. I would be interested in learning what happens once a costume has been filmed; what rights do a costume designer have to any Halloween costumes of their designs. 
Something that did come up in my research was collaborations between costume designers and merchandising and/or the lack-there-of. The Hollywood Reporter has an article from 2016 speaking with a few costume designers about merchandising fashion linked with the shows they designed for. It answered a few questions and just piled more in their places. 
So, for now it seems like designers don't collaborate on the Halloween costumes of their designs that you can buy at these mega Halloween stores. If you want to be your favorite character from a tv or movie I would suggest learning about the designer a little, gathering photos, and thrift the items or looking in your own closet to pull together the look for the character. It is fun, eco-friendly, and maybe in some way a nod to the designers who created these looks to begin with. 
This may be my hot take. What do you think?