on a high note
All the World’s a Virtual Stage
Reinventing Theater Online By Carla Christiano
T
heaters across the country have had a tough time in the last year. Most have had to close for at least some period of time because of the pandemic and are struggling financially. Many had to get creative to reach and keep their audiences. For some area theaters, this creativity meant crafting performance space on a virtual platform.
New Challenges “In the beginning, when we first launched into this brave new world last April 2020, there was a huge learning curve for all involved — artists, production crew, marketing staff and patrons. We were all forced out of our comfort zone pretty quickly,” said Adrienne Bryant Godwin, Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Director of Programming.
body instead of relying on facial expression for developing their character,” Ridgway said. Theaters also face the challenges of what to perform and how to present it. “Due to rights and royalties restrictions, the most popular plays and musical theatre shows are unavailable for theatre companies to film or live stream productions,” Ridgway said. “Hiring video services and utilizing new streaming services may be unaffordable for small theatre groups, especially in the current economic climate.” At the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, they are easing into this new environment. “We are starting fairly modestly with the smaller plays. It also involves fewer moving parts,” said Joseph Wallen, Workhouse Arts Center Director of Performing Arts.
Over at the ARTfactory in Manassas, they found reinventing theater for this new platform “has been an experiment in innovation,” said Anne Ridgway, Theater Arts Director. “With this new way of presenting theatre, we have had to learn to adapt to the challenges of virtual productions,” she said.
Up until the pandemic, the center had not considered hosting performances on a virtual platform. Now they are. “We do have a series of one-act plays by Anton Chekov that we are producing virtually. We are in the middle of how that online platform will happen,” he said.
Those challenges have ranged from budget constraints to safety constraints. Actors and directors have also had to adjust.
New Opportunities
Because of COVID-19, theaters still require masks and social distancing during filming. As a result, “Actors have had to learn to work on enunciation and projecting their voices to improve sound quality. They are also learning to act with their entire
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May 2021 prince william living
Although there are still many things to be worked out, one thing Wallen realized is that the Zoom platform they have used allows for actors and directors to be in different locations and performing together. “Our director can be in Rhode Island and the actors are all around the D.C. area, but there’s no reason why
