4 | betweenus I can’t decide whether I think “pivoting” should now be thought of as a sport or an art form. Actually – let me amend. Let’s make that “durational pivoting.” Whether we’re talking about costume shops who spent the months of March and April making PPE rather than couture, or scenic designers whose canvasses became the six squares of a Zoom screen, theatre artists have been spending the past nine (!) months in a state of durational pivot. Stage actors have developed their camera chops. Playwrights have learned to make space in their narratives for audience interactions. Audiences have learned to attend arts performances in their living rooms, their cars, and under tents. I think it’s heroic on all fronts. A Very Terry Christmas is a symphony of pivots. Between its inception and its premiere, it has taken the following potential forms: •A n original cabaret, performed on the Hertz Stage. •A n original cabaret, performed on the Coke Stage. •A n original cabaret, performed on the Coke Stage with a socially distanced audience. • An original cabaret, performed on the Coke Stage for no audience except a camera crew, to be streamed to a virtual audience. • An original work for the camera, performed and captured on the Coke Stage, to be streamed to a virtual audience. • A city-wide odyssey featuring an actress, her snow globe, her personal assistant and her camera crew, offering Atlanta a giant hug of a holiday gift. Yup. That last one’s where we landed. And while figuring out how to shoot a short film in 14 locations over two weeks, without displacing the reemerging patrons (and the odd rhinoceros) to be found at those locations wasn’t exactly easy, it might have been more fun than I’ve had before or since. If you want to juggle the demands of whale sharks, Varsity customers, celebrity puppets, and — yes — a rhinoceros named Mumbles, you should totally do so with Terry Burrell. I’d ask you to take my word for that, but the beauty is, you don’t have to. Have a seat somewhere comfy, fire up the old internet, and treat yourself to some unbridled, mobile, and wildly pivoting holiday cheer. And here’s to a 2021 with maybe a little less drama.
Susan Jennings Hertz Artistic Director alliancetheatre.org | @alliancetheatre
