CYS COVID Safety Policy & Protocols

Chicago Youth Shakespeare (CYS) is proud to be part of a growing coalition of more than 70 Chicago area performing arts venues and producers that have agreed upon Covid-19 Vaccination and Mask Requirements for audiences, artists and staff. Download full press release here. 

For the protection of our audience members and the greater community, CYS has a mandatory vaccination and booster policy for all members of our staff, visiting artists, interns, and Ensemble members. CYS continues to follow all city, state, and federal COVID safety guidelines, and has outlined the following protocols for attendance at our upcoming performances and events this season:
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• Vaccination required: ​As of January 20, 2022, all audience members must show proof* of full vaccination and booster, when eligible, against COVID-19 upon entry to a CYS performance or event. 
  • Please note that full vaccination occurs two weeks following a CDC-recommended course of vaccination.
  • Booster eligibility as defined by the CDC calls for a booster shot five months after the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months after the single dose of Johnson & Johnson. 
  • Children under the age of 5 who are not currently eligible for vaccination will not be admitted to CYS performances at present. 

• Mask and Face coverings: Due to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, CYS requires medical-grade facial masks (multi-layer surgical, N95, KN95, or KF94 masks), worn properly over the nose and mouth, for all CYS audience members at this time. 
  • For your convenience, CYS will provide complimentary surgical and KN95 masks for​ any patrons arriving at a CYS performance this season without one of the medical-grade face mask options described above.
  • Please note that fabric masks, bandanas, neck scarves, or other cloth masks will not be accepted at this time.

• Risk:  Audience members and event attendees understand that there is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public space where people gather together. Individuals who attend a CYS performance or event voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19. 
  
  
• Compliance: CYS remains deeply committed to doing all that we can to ensure the health and safety of our young artists, staff, and audience members. We appreciate your understanding and compliance with the protocols above for attendance at CYS performances and events this season. 

We will continue to update this page regularly, and notify audiences of any changes to our COVID Safety Policy & Protocols.