Some festivals are going partly or entirely digital. Organizers for others are holding their collective breaths to see what the reopening of Saskatchewan might look like and rescheduling their dates.

Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan announced May 18 that one show instead of two will go on.

Macbeth will bloody the stage July 23 to Aug. 22, with preview performances on July 21 and 22.

The company had hoped to launch its new venue last year, but it was obviously impossible.

“Planning a season during a time of so much uncertainty has been a very difficult task,” said marketing director Alan Long’s press release.

“To mitigate our risk, artistic producer Will Brooks opted to do one production this summer with only five actors. This allows for physical distancing if necessary and creates a whole other set of challenges for the artistic team. This is an exciting opportunity to do a Macbeth unlike anything you have seen before.”

Macbeth will star Kent Allen, Joshua Beaudry (Macbeth), Kristi Friday (Lady Macbeth), S.E. Grummett and Christopher KrugIron. Tickets are not yet on sale as the S on S grapples with the number of seats that can be safely sold.

S on S says it feels “extremely lucky” to announce its 2021 season, something it does not take for granted. The company has received extra support from the late Robert (Bob) Steane’s estate.

The Saskatoon Fringe Festival is planning, with crossed fingers, for a partly in-person event July 29-Aug. 7 after last year’s closure.

“We were moving full steam ahead. We had a very exciting plan for the 2020 Fringe,” said Anita Smith artistic and executive director at 25th Street Theatre, producers of the Fringe.

“We had plans to move off Broadway . . . and had just made the announcement before COVID, on March 6 or something. And then the world fell apart.

“It was pretty devastating. We lost staff; I had told the board that they were probably going to need to lay me off. I could not see how they were going to be able to pay my wage.”

Then Steane’s foresight and philanthropy, again, came to the rescue.

“I remember the day that Jen Pederson from the Saskatoon Community Foundation called me and said, ‘you are one of the recipients of the Robert Steane Legacy Gift’ and that changed everything.”

It didn’t, of course, help to mount a Fringe — all Fringe festivals were cancelled. But it did make a difference to 25th Street and several local artists. They instead launched the This Is Not That Festival made possible by the gift, a largely digital Fringe-like event, and the Live From Your Lawn project.

People who made donations were entered into a draw, and 25th Street pulled names to decide who would see the shows, performed, well, on their lawns.

This year’s Fringe, however, will likely go ahead.

“It’s obviously not going to be business as usual, but it wasn’t going to be anyway,” Smith said.

Two indoor venues are in the mix: The Refinery and the Broadway Theatre, both at greatly-reduced capacity. A city mobile stage will be set up at W.E. Graham park behind Victoria School as an outdoor venue.

For the outside portion this year, the plan is to have three separate spaces — microsites or hubs. One will be aimed at a family audience, one at Gen-X/Baby Boomers and the Street Beach at Gen-Z/Millennial crowd. The sites will be fenced and gated, and Smith said they are looking at a booking system.

The planned relocation to 11th Street and Dufferin Avenue will also go ahead; and 24 digital shows will also be offered.

“Some Fringes are going exclusively with digital and some are going in-person live,” Smith said. “It’s really different from region to region. As far as Canadian festivals go, I think we are cautiously leading the pack in terms of in-person content.”

The 34th SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival announced on May 19 that its usual late June-early July dates have been cancelled, and the festival will move to sometime in August.

“The size and scope is to be determined,” said artistic director Kevin Tobin in an interview. “We’re taking the three-step plan of the province seriously and definitely won’t be running a festival in July.

“The provincial reopening plan is definitely positive for events if we get to step three and restrictions are alleviated from a venue capacity (standpoint.) We’re taking those things under consideration.”

Because of the lateness of the planning hour as well as ongoing COVID restrictions, the festival will look quite different this year.

“There likely will be more local than usual — local and provincial artists with support from regional Canadian artists if it’s possible, depending on what’s happening in their communities and the restrictions in place,” Tobin said.

The Nutrien Children’s Festival of Saskatchewan remains digital this year, June 5-8: Find the program here https://nutrienchildrensfestival. com/2021-digital-program.

The Ex is tentatively slated for Aug. 10-15. However, its website notes that show format and dates are pending and reliant on health regulations.

As of May 14, Prairieland Park said it was “very hopeful” a modified version of the Ex would go ahead, although it likely will not be the same as in previous years. Attendance may be a fraction of the usual daily 30,000 guests.

“But this isn’t about making a ton of money,” Susan Kuzma, special events manager for Prairieland, said in a release. “This is about bringing back a bit of ‘normal,’ getting our staff working again, doing our part to revive the hospitality/events/tourism industry and hopefully breaking even on the event.”

-Joanne Paulson