Toronto Canada – Analog Artist Digital World

A ghost light is an electric light that is left on the stage of a theater when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark. A popular theatrical superstition is that every theater has a ghost, and some theaters have traditions to appease ghosts that reach far back into their history. One such superstition states that ghost lights provide opportunities for ghosts to perform onstage, thus appeasing them and preventing them from cursing the theater or sabotaging the set or production.

Many theaters forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic have renewed the tradition of ghost lights as a way of indicating the theaters will one day re-open. The Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Canada has burned a ghost light through both the 1918 and 2020 pandemics.

On July 30, 2021 it was announced that Broadway audiences will need masks and proof of vaccination when shows reopen in the fall. Theaters will only reopen to 100 percent capacity. Audiences must wear masks except while eating or drinking in designated locations. The Metropolitan Opera plans to bar children under 12, who are ineligible to be inoculated against coronavirus. All of New York’s 41 Broadway theaters are mandating documentation of full vaccination before allowing indoor entry to patrons, performers, backstage crew and theater staff for all shows.

Exceptions are being made for children under 12 and people with a medical condition or closely held religious belief that prevents vaccination. These guests must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time, or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within six hours of the performance start time.

Pass Over raised the curtain on August 4, 2021 at the August Wilson Theatre. Proof of full vaccination was already required to get a seat at Bruce Springsteen’s sold out solo show seating 1,721, which opened on at the St. James Theatre June 2021. “A uniform policy makes it simple for our audiences and should give even more confidence to our guests about how seriously Broadway is taking audience safety,” League president Charlotte St. Martin said in the statement.

Random Samples Collective from Toronto Canada presents this Fringe show that follows the stories of millions of sperm embarking upon a high stakes suicide mission to battle a large, dangerous, and mysterious enemy deep behind the hymen. Meanwhile in the ovaries, the eggs are forced to say goodbye to one of their own as the time for their monthly sacrifice to the uterus looms on the horizon. The entire microscopic battle was presented by a single actor, Jeff Leard, in pristine white underwear, black studded arm bands and army boots. I couldn’t help but notice that his “package” loomed rather large. There was also a subtle smudge on the tip of the bulge, which caused my mind to wander. Had he fallen during a performance to smudge his pristine white visage?

If you love Star Wars and you love sex, you should love this show. The entire army of characters were tied together in this one actors performance. A rare moment of improve happened when someones cell phone went off in the audience. At first he sat down and said, “we can wait.” Then he wondered, “what is a cell phone doing in this vagina?” Another audience member blurted out “phone sex!” Everyone laughed.

At one point the inner workings of one of the Sci-Fi Sperm Wars vehicles had to be opened. The actor mimed the machinations involved in opening the multiple panels, cylinders and digital pads with an orchestration of sound effects that he mouthed. The sequence was completed with the magical phrase “dry ice.” Which was accompanied with his hands miming the delicate clouds descent. When this long drawn out sequence of events was repeated, it got a bit old.

The horrors of battle became clear as millions of sperm perished because the vaginal canal was blocked by a diaphragm coated with spermicide. The immense ovum sat protected behind this impenetrable force field. Sperm withered and melted like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. A single sperm made it past the diaphragm and wiggled his way deep inside the wet moist humid egg. He lamented the millions lost in the assault.

There is only one more performance of Sperm Wars today, Sunday May 25th at 4:30pm to 5:30pm in the Blue Venue at the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St., Orlando, FL). Tickets are $11 along with the $9 Fringe button required to get into any show. Rated 18+.