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Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

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Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#91
post #83

The great depression in live performances is truly a global tragedy. If you think restaurants and barbershops have it bad, imagine theaters. For most of them it's basically impossible to do social distancing and remain financially solvent. People may be itching to go out to eat and get a haircut, but it will be a long time before people are going to pack in to an opera house. Couple that with the fact that audiences…

Live streaming a perfomance isn't an option? Wouldn't mind paying to live stream my favorite orchestra while stuck at home. There was a thing about spanish orchestra performing to an audience of plants and streaming it.

It might be a way to supplement their income for people who wouldn't have shown up anyway, but I personally wouldn't pay for it unless I was truly stuck at home. There's nothing like being there.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because fixed costs such as building rent, maintenance and such will continue. Those are substantial amounts for any venue of note.

The value of a building (or the land it sits on) in a commercial district is entirely linked to the potential for that building to make money. During lockdown there's MUCH less opportunity for that building to make money. Accordingly, rents should drop; banks should make equity release more readily available etc etc.

Rental contracts are typically five or ten year fixed. You don't get to renegotiate in the middle because circumstances change.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#93
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A digital platform with some sort of interaction (clap, reactions, emojis, live chat with some sort of censorship) might adjust public spectacles to the new age.

It kind of has already -- Twitch, etc -- but whatever it evolves into online seems unlikely to support expensive and lavishly budgeted spectacles like Cirque. I feel certain live performances and sports with physically-present audiences will return, as that experience seems to fill some kind of deep-seated human need. (One I certainly share) But I increasingly fear that COVID-19 represents something like an asteroid-…

Me too. I talk to ppl and they're kinda waiting everything to go back to normal because or the vaccine, but I believe that the effects of this crisis will be long standing and many things will ultimately change for ever.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cirque has/had multiple traveling shows. They spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in each city, depending on whether it’s an arena or a big tent show.

I thought they where more permanent than just a few days, if so, that's impressive considering their show quality (Which probably differ a lot if they are travelling)..

They are in places like Las Vegas where they have multiple "permanent" (as in years long runs) shows. They also have traveling shows that will stay for a few days in a city and generally have their own tents and such that they setup, they don't use existing buildings or arenas.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#95
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might be like... extra retarded for saying this but... with 153k cases in Florida and 3.5k deaths (2.3%), is it really that bad? I can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Florida citizens have it/have had it and had no symptoms and aren't getting tested (which would drive the death percentage down something fierce). I feel like I have a higher chance of dying driving down the street. Am…

> with 153k cases in Florida and 3.5k deaths (2.3%), is it really that bad? You don't even know if it's 3.5K deaths _due to_ COVID in the first place. The way US counts the deaths from this is "unique" in that if someone had COVID when they died, but they did not die _from_ COVID, they're still counted as a COVID death. That's why countries like Russia with much less formidable healthcare systems have "lower" fatalit…

As countless others have explained, this is an incredibly obtuse way of looking at it since they wouldn't have died in the nearly total majority of cases if it weren't for COVID.

This is provably the case, since the average death rate is very steady year on year, yet shot up this year. People are dying in droves from something, and if not COVID then what do you propose? Hell, in reality the US and other countries are underreporting their figures, because there's still a whole tonne of unexplained deaths above the COVID numbers and no other explanation as to why those deaths have occurred.

See the following for further explanation.

[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/21/world/coronav...

[2]: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53233066

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This holiday season is going to be a real test since we won’t have a vaccine by Novemberish. No ones going to fly out to holiday hotspots, or travel for Thanksgiving. Vaccine or bust basically.

I might be like... extra retarded for saying this but... with 153k cases in Florida and 3.5k deaths (2.3%), is it really that bad? I can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Florida citizens have it/have had it and had no symptoms and aren't getting tested (which would drive the death percentage down something fierce). I feel like I have a higher chance of dying driving down the street. Am…

Not your not wrong. The statistics show that the mortality rate is low unless your 65+. It's much higher than the flu, but less than say SARS was back in 2005.

However, this isn't the real problem. Unlike most illnesses this one has a very long incubation time (like 1-2 weeks) unlike the flu where you get sick in a day or so. This means you can be walking around making people ill and spreading the disease even though you're totally fine. (Which is why walking around with out a mask isn't healthy for other people)

So the real issue isn't you getting sick and dying but the fact that you're spreading the illness to 20+ other people and making the problem so much worse. All these sick people will eventually effect you (as they already have) overwhelming health and social services.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#97

The great depression in live performances is truly a global tragedy. If you think restaurants and barbershops have it bad, imagine theaters. For most of them it's basically impossible to do social distancing and remain financially solvent. People may be itching to go out to eat and get a haircut, but it will be a long time before people are going to pack in to an opera house. Couple that with the fact that audiences…

That and a lot of these venues had razor thin margins during the best of times; at half capacity they can’t survive. And that’s not even including the fact that discretionary spending will remain low until people feel financially secure, which might happen long after the pandemic is solved. Those who lost out on work will have credit holes to dig back out of once this is over. Here in LA this is killing off some stan…

Agreed. I'm friends with many ballet dancers, and my heart breaks for them. I feel like ballet had a bit of a resurgence recently with the popularity of shows like "You think you can dance" and stars like Misty Copeland.

But now I think a generation of dancers will be lost. Dancers can't just "pause". Staying in shape without access to studios and performances is incredibly difficult. The career of a dancer is incredibly short in the best of times. I think many will start to realize the gravity of the situation and move on.

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#99
post #83

The great depression in live performances is truly a global tragedy. If you think restaurants and barbershops have it bad, imagine theaters. For most of them it's basically impossible to do social distancing and remain financially solvent. People may be itching to go out to eat and get a haircut, but it will be a long time before people are going to pack in to an opera house. Couple that with the fact that audiences…

Live streaming a perfomance isn't an option? Wouldn't mind paying to live stream my favorite orchestra while stuck at home. There was a thing about spanish orchestra performing to an audience of plants and streaming it.

Loss of concessions could easily make it financially infeasible. Parking fees also lost.

I end up out of pocket easily double the ticket price when all is done.

But the real killer is everyone will want the equivalent ticket of the cheap seats. How do you stratify your prices while streaming?

Re: Cirque Du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy Protection

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value of a building (or the land it sits on) in a commercial district is entirely linked to the potential for that building to make money. During lockdown there's MUCH less opportunity for that building to make money. Accordingly, rents should drop; banks should make equity release more readily available etc etc.

Rental contracts are typically five or ten year fixed. You don't get to renegotiate in the middle because circumstances change.

Not to mention tax assessments reductions will lag, especially with cities themselves being close to bankruptcy.
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