Instead of costumes, these Charlotte arts groups have been making masks during COVID

Pandemics produce unlikely heroes.

Society has always looked up to doctors, nurses and first responders. But suddenly, grocery store and restaurant workers, mail carriers, couriers and sanitation workers are on that pedestal, too. Make room on that dais for costumers.

Liz Shinkle, Charlotte Ballet’s production manager, heard in February about costume shops in areas hard hit by the new coronavirus producing masks for hospitals. She mentioned it to Doug Singleton, Charlotte Ballet’s executive director.

At the time, neither thought Charlotte would require a mask-making operation. Official word from Washington was that the virus wasn’t going to have much impact on Americans.

Steven Levine, director of production at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, also heard about costume shops becoming mask-making facilities. “Unbeknownst to me, CTC’s costume shop was having their own conversation around mask-making, so when I brought up the idea, they were raring to go,” Levine said.

CTC’s costume shop employs three full-time staffers. They, along with a couple of volunteers, have been churning out masks from home. One of them, Magda Guichard, even donated a large amount of fabric from her personal stock.

By mid-March, coronavirus caused Charlotte Ballet to cancel opening night and the full run of Sleeping Beauty — just four hours before curtain. The rest of the season looked dicey, too. Instead of mourning, the organization leapt into action. The production shop staff had the sewing know-how — and a mask recipient in mind.

“Atrium Health is one of our biggest supporters,” Shinkle said. “They’re also our partner. We work with them on community engagement, and they provide nutrition and wellness classes for our staff.”

Over 2,500 masks

Holli Helms, Atrium Health’s senior manager of community engagement and corporate responsibility, sent a how-to video, instructions and two mask patterns — one for adults, one for children.

On what was supposed to be opening weekend, Shinkle and Costume Shop Manager Katherine Zywczyk each made a dozen or so masks at home to get the hang of it. Zywczyk even created a third pattern for adolescents and teenagers.

By March 30, production had shifted entirely from ballet costumes to masks for Atrium Health.

The masks are given to patients who present with “influenza-like illness,” said Helms. They’ve gone to “teammates who do not have direct patient care duties, such as pharmacists, maintenance workers and supply delivery staff members,” she said.

So far, Charlotte Ballet has made more than 2,500 masks total and donated 705 to Atrium.

Two weeks into mask production, a few members of the Charlotte Ballet team were furloughed. But Shinkle and Zywczyk continued sewing — six days a week from 8 a.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. And sanitizing.

Handled with care

Making masks entails a level of hygiene these makers had never had to employ. Shinkle and Zywczyk gave the shop a deep clean.

Everything not relevant to mask-making was moved aside. They reorganized the table set-up so staffers could be eight or 10 feet apart rather than the prescribed six feet. Clorox and Lysol are now essential tools of their trade.

“Katherine and I would come in an hour before the rest of the staff to sanitize,” Shinkle said. “No one else — not even our executive director — has been allowed in our shop since we started mask production.” Staffers’ temperatures were taken upon arrival. If it was in the acceptable range, they put on a mask and washed their hands before starting.

The team started out wearing gloves during their work but discovered that came with its own challenges. “We started accidentally sewing our gloves onto the masks,” Shinkle said.

The masks go through two wash cycles before leaving Charlotte Ballet’s facility. They get transferred to a sanitized basket and from there get packed into bags or boxes.

Delivery to Atrium was as hands-off as possible. Shinkle dropped off boxes at a distribution point set up just beyond Atrium’s main campus. From there, Atrium staff ensured the integrity of the design of every mask and then cleaned them using a process that aligned with CDC guidelines.

They were distributed throughout the health care system. Most of the pediatric masks went to Levine Children’s Hospital.

Donated supplies

Mask production has not been without issues. The hospital masks needed to be cotton, and Charlotte Ballet has mostly spandex and knit in their shop.

Once they used all the cotton they had, Belk donated 100% cotton sheets the team cut down and used for masks. Elastic and wire are also involved in mask making, and elastic has become as scarce as toilet paper, Shinkle said.

She and Zywczyk go on early-morning Target runs to buy Target-brand sheets and pilfer the elastic.

While Charlotte Ballet’s mask donations to Atrium are complete, they’ve been contacted by other groups to make masks. A board member of another nonprofit, HopeWay, approached Shinkle about making masks for residents and staff. Shinkle and Zywczyk made 250 masks for the residential mental health facility.

Then, a local property management company heard about mask production and offered to pay for masks for its staff. Three more private clients requested masks for their companies and the calls keep coming, Shinkle said.

Serving the community

CTC’s masks — 350 to date — have gone to Atrium Health, Safe Alliance, Charlotte Animal Referral and Emergency, Novant Presbyterian Radiation Oncology. The team continues to produce them from home.

What the Charlotte Ballet costume shop is doing now, Shinkle said, is not that different from what they do regularly. “Our mission is to support the community,” she said. “We’re just doing that in a different way now. We’re thankful we have the opportunity to be useful.”

“In many ways, arts organizations are community service organizations,” CTC’s Levine said. “This is a way we can continue to serve our community despite not being able to gather audiences together.”

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This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 9:31 AM.