SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Five months after shutting down, there are signs of life inside some of the major theatres, arenas and other venues around the Maritimes.   

The Imperial Theatre in Saint John, N.B., is gradually getting ready for live performances. But the audiences will be just a fraction of capacity.

"Our full capacity is 850, so down to 240, 250 is, you know, it's a very big change -- and that's using right to the back row of the balcony," said Angela Campbell, the executive director of the theatre.

As of Monday in New Brunswick, larger venues have a green light to open, but there a lot of conditions, especially around seating.

Public health has even tweeted out a suggested seating arrangement to allow for physical distancing.

Rehearsals have been underway for the Fundy Fringe Festival, which opened Monday night in Saint John -- one of the first live-event- performances in the Maritimes during the pandemic.

The festival is unconventional, and this year, so is the seating arrangement.

"I can't wait to see at the end of the week, how it all panned out, because it will really inform us as a theatre company what we get to do going forward," said Sarah Rankin of the Fundy Fringe Festival.

The questions get more complex, as the venues get bigger. For example, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League says there will be a season this year, and it will start Oct. 1, but teams around the Maritimes are trying to figure out what that season will look like.

Quebec-based teams will play without fans in the stands. 

Maritime teams, like the Halifax Mooseheads, say the plans remain a work in progress.

"We are still in discussions with provincial health officials regarding an approved process that will allow a reduced number of fans to attend our games safely," the team said in a statement.

The league schedule, ticketing information and seating have yet to be finalized.

"We're still figuring it out," said Stephen Tobias of the Saint John Theatre Company. "I'd be lying if I said we had all the answers at this point."

Tobias says live events require more careful calculation.

"The model works when we can get 4,000 people into the Imperial Theatre over a weekend," Tobias said. "That's what success looks like. Getting those same 4,000 people over a three-week period, may not actually work. The math may not work on that."

It's the kind of new math that sports and theatre groups now have to perform during the pandemic.