NOT EVEN REMOTELY A PANDEMIC CURVEBALL Steve Kovacs, Playwright “When are you guys gonna write another show?” – numerous audience members, summer of 2019 “Another show? Give us ten years.” – Corrie Beula Kovacs and Steve Kovacs, authors of We Like It Where? In the spring of 2020, Corrie Beula Kovacs and I were looking for ways to keep our vocal studio connected to our theater community. Like so many other businesses, we had pivoted (I know, the dreaded “p” word) and moved our lessons online. But with quarantine also came the cancelation and closing of all theatrical productions, professional, regional and amateur alike. That’s when we decided to start a series called Livestream Singing Saturdays on Facebook. We performed musical theater songs with weekly special guests in a cabaret-style format. As I checked the stream during the shows, I would inevitably monitor the viewer count. I found myself irrationally disappointed when only 12 or so people (usually the same dozen every week) tuned in. We were working hard to put together quality shows. Why was the viewership so low? However, disappointment was replaced by satisfaction when I reframed the situation for what it was. In a strange time when almost everything shut down and moved to a virtual format, we had 12 people who cared deeply about who we are and what we do…enough so to tune in every week. And from that standpoint, we accomplished what we set out to do: we stayed connected to our community. The experience caught my attention as an interesting premise for a show. “Corrie”, I said, “Wouldn’t that be funny? A show about two people trying (and failing) to do musical theater online?” She liked the idea instantly. With extra time on our hands due to
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Northern Sky Theater
