This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.

Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year may be “parasocial,” but since the dawn of this pandemic, many like myself are more familiar with the word “vicarious.” Rather than mistaking online interactions with a personal relationship to someone famous, we watch acquaintances celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and the like as we send them well-wishes from afar. We can only be happy that they’re happy.

One advantage of vicarious living is that it provides a much more visceral experience than that of the always scary parasocial. Sure, vicariousness can be plenty unsettling in its own way—there’s a reason

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