Theater teachers are used to thinking outside the box.
They come up with all sorts of creative ways to finance a show, whisk together costumes, hustle materials for a set.
So it should come as no surprise that while schools have shuttered because of the coronavirus, it hasn鈥檛 stopped the shows.
Some theater educators in town have taken to rehearsing students virtually for the always-anticipated big spring production.
And they are mounting the plays the same way.
Empire High School鈥檚 Richard Gremel had been rehearsing his students for the spring play, 鈥淭rap,鈥 since January.
鈥淲e went on spring break March 9 and never came back,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e were planning to do a show April 24. The goal was to come back from break and put the final pieces together.鈥
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When the schools closed, Gremel made the tough decision to cancel all productions. Then he got an email from Stage Partners, a company that licenses plays for schools.
鈥淭hey put out this free-to-perform monologue play called 鈥楽tranded,鈥欌 he says. 鈥淭hey said do with it what you like.鈥
鈥淪tranded,鈥 specifically designed for a virtual production, takes place on a cruise ship that has been quarantined. It is a series of monologues from the passengers.
Some students needed the performing credits, and others, particularly the seniors, were excited about the last production. Gremel emailed his classes and offered them the option of performing the play virtually. All but two of his 25 students jumped at the chance.
The two that didn鈥檛 had conflicts with jobs and other classes.
鈥淎ll the kids were on board,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey were grateful to have an opportunity to perform.鈥
He rehearsed them on Zoom.
鈥淚 listened to one monologue at a time, and I gave notes and feedback,鈥 says Gremel.
When the show was ready, each student filmed his or her monologue and sent it to Gremel, who then spliced them together and put the show on YouTube.
Empire High senior Jake Taylor found that working virtually allowed him more time to develop his character.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also kind of sad because I really like hanging out with everybody,鈥 he says.
Madyson Edwards, also a senior at the school, was grateful for the chance to rehearse and perform. But she found the virtual element less than satisfying.
鈥淚 think one of the best things about acting is you get to hear the audience鈥檚 reaction and that helps you gauge if what you are doing is right or wrong,鈥 she says. 鈥淥nline, not having that live audience to hear the reaction was a bit tough. I鈥檓 not sure how the audience perceives it.鈥
Rincon/University High School鈥檚 advanced theater class had planned a production of Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥淢uch Ado About Nothing鈥 as its year-end play.
Lines had been memorized, sets and costumes almost complete, when schools were closed.
鈥淎s soon as I realized we weren鈥檛 going back right away, I messaged them over spring break and said 鈥榙on鈥檛 let this go鈥, we will push through,鈥 says theater teacher Maryann Green
Zoom rehearsals began.
The plan is to eventually record it. But what has come out of the rehearsals has been something equally important.
鈥淎 lot of my seniors say they are done with school and yet they show up Tuesdays and Thursdays for rehearsals,鈥 says Green. 鈥淧art of it is because it鈥檚 that sense of team, of ensemble. It鈥檚 so important to remind people that we are still a part of a community. And I think that鈥檚 especially important for teenagers.鈥
Live Theatre Workshop has continued its popular education classes online, including one called 鈥淟et鈥檚 Make a Musical,鈥 which had students creating a musical. The productions will be performed virtually.
LTW teacher Amanda Gremel has found virtual teaching leaves time for more in-depth work.
鈥淲e are able to break down acting 101 and really get them connected to characters,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e strip it down and go back to basics.鈥
Chris Pankratz wrote a farce, 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Make Wine From Raisins,鈥 for his theater students at Flowing Wells High School to perform. When schools closed, he moved rehearsals online.
鈥淭he physical comedy goes away, but the kids seem to value it,鈥 says Pankratz, who says the goal is to film a stage reading of the play.
Canceling the staged production has been sad, he says, 鈥渆specially for seniors who are mourning their last shows, a milestone for high school theater kids.鈥
At the same time, 鈥渋t鈥檚 inspiring to see that the kids are putting a lot into it,鈥 he said.
Kevin Johnson, who teaches theater to primary students at Basis 蜜柚直播 North, got wind of 鈥淭he Show Must Go Online,鈥 a musical that had just come out and was written specifically for online. He is planning a virtual production with his fourth graders, working in tandem with the school鈥檚 music teacher.
The spring play is a big thing for the fourth graders.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something they look forward to all year long,鈥 says Johnson. 鈥淚 thought it wasn鈥檛 a good way for the kids to leave the school.鈥
Denver Casado, co-founder of Beat by Beat, a New York City-based company that publishes new musicals for kids to perform, is one of a trio of writers who whipped the play together in 19 days.
鈥淭ypically it takes six months to a year to write a show,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e had heard people were desperate to do something with theater kids. The feedback I got is that this is something that鈥檚 hugely needed now. That motivated us.鈥
To date, 375 virtual productions of 鈥淭he Show Must Go Online鈥 are underway, including the one at Basis, he says.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 in 11 different countries. And we鈥檝e already been approached about translating it,鈥 Casado says
Johnson isn鈥檛 surprised that theater teachers have rallied to find a way to continue to teach and make art.
鈥淲hen something shuts down, the arts find a way to completely reinvent, to skate around obstacles,鈥 says Johnson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to stop. People are determined to create music and words and presentations. 鈥 When we have to start from scratch, we find new ways to create. We have to. There鈥檚 no choice.鈥
