COVID-19: Mexican set designers lend a helping hand during the coronavirus crisis

The theater world would not be the same without the scenography and lighting workshops where hundreds of carpentry , electricity , forge , sewing , and automation experts work. Since the closing of theaters, the set designer Sergio Villegas and the Metropolitan Theater Awards launched a campaign to make the hands of these experts available to the health sector .

“We can build stools , shelves , beds , screens , lamps , mechanisms such as conveyor belts , forklifts , and all kinds of structures. In the theater world, we are experts in building light and customized things as fast as possible,” said Villegas in a video.

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So far, says Villegas, they are about to reach an agreement with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) to build a temporary waiting room outside the Ar ea 32 General Hospital in Villa Coapa , planned for relatives to stay at a safe area that ensures physical distancing and where they can receive information about patients. “Thanks to the intermediation of the Culture Ministry, we are about to reach a deal with the IMSS to build a waiting room ; this will give work to five workshops from the 10 we are coordinating during the emergency,” he explains.

Villegas says that they have also received requests to build beds and tables for private suppliers . Moreover, they are building transparent acrylic boxes so that the medical personnel can work with patients. “They are boxes that can cover the patient and allow the medical staff to keep taking care of them with more safety ; we’re building them at a very low cost so that hospitals can buy them. The objective is to meet the expectations of mass production ; we’re not a big factory and we want to offer good quality at an affordable price .”

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And he adds “We are developing a prototype of an artificial respirator ; we are testing it so that it can be used in humans in case of extreme emergencies; we are receiving guidance so that they can have the required quality and we can obtain the certification from the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks . The objective is to keep the 10 workshops in operation during the contingency .”

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