She was reading about the mask shortage and the impending peak in California cases of COVID-19 and wanted to do something to help the City get ahead of the crisis. Several weeks ago, Costume Director Daniele McCartan was thinking about how we could keep the energy of our Costume Shop alive while the shop itself is closed. I thought it would be interesting to share with you how our mask-making is happening, so I sat down with Costume Shop Manager Jai Alltizer who talked me through the process.”

We recently were able to make a large donation of personal protective equipment to UCSF from the Opera’s supplies, and our Costume Shop has been creating masks for the Bay Area’s community of hospitals and first responders. “We are a company that excels in solving complex problems in the theater, and it is so heartening to see that same creative urge shaping the Company’s response to the virus. “I have been so proud of the resourcefulness and creativity that employees across the whole Company have brought to this crisis,” said Matthew Shilvock, SFO General Manager. Here’s some background and an explanation of the mask making processes at SFO from SFO Opera’s blog post, Backstage with Matthew: Behind the Mask from April 25, 2020.

As of July 31, 2020, SFO has donated its 10,000th mask! We send our congratulations to everyone at SFO who pitched in and used their skills to help others out in a time of need. Like many theater and opera companies around the country, San Francisco Opera has stepped up and deployed the skills of its costume and prop shops, as well as other technical departments at SFO to make PPE masks for first responders and medical workers.

San francisco opera mask