Pioneering a New Reality

This year, though, thanks to COVID-created restrictions, there will be no musical, which seems a shame considering that the venue can accommodate an audience of 700 and is usually filled to capacity because the performance is, without exception, spectacular.

But, hey, actors are resilient. They know how to adapt. Improvising when the situation dictates goes with the territory. No musical, then, doesn’t mean no production. Physical distancing doesn’t mean no audience. Strict rules don’t mean no creativity.

“We switched to a play,” said Boyd, Collegiate’s director of performing arts, one morning recently.  “We’re going to live-stream Almost, Maine. It’s about a town called Almost because the residents weren’t organized enough to get together to give the town a name. We chose this particular play because it has nine scenes. Eight scenes have only two actors, and one has three so if we had to go virtual, we could make it happen.”

Nineteen actors and 10 crew members, all students, will present Almost, Maine in real time this Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.

Spacing guidelines apply even on stage, which means that cast and crew must maintain the requisite six-foot distance from one another.

“Actually, more than six feet,” Boyd explained. “This is where the magic comes into play. Steve Perigard (the director) had to figure out how we were going to pull this off in a live-stream format with our actors at a safe distance with proper protections in place. Al Williamson (technical director/set designer) had to figure out the technical part.”

Four cameras spaced at 15-foot intervals will record the action from the front of the stage, which is divided into  halves.

“If you’re in the audience,” Boyd said, “the first scene starts, and you’re looking at the left side. There’re two actors separated by plexiglass hanging from our lighting grid, which we’ve lowered. They’ll act their scenes without their masks. They’re acting directly toward the camera so you always see their faces.

“The scene is designed so it looks like they’re facing each other. You have one camera per actor. For example, in one of the scenes, an actor is handing a bag to another. They’re actually handing it forward toward the camera. Simultaneously, the other actor is grabbing it from a forward position. You actually have two stagehands underneath camera view handing these off to make it look like they’re next to each other.

“There’s a little bit of studio magic and a lot of coordination that’s happening to pull this off. A student is on each camera. Students are handling props on stage, once again at a safe distance.”

Behind the actors is a green screen where Williamson has digitally placed scenery, some of which he designed and sophomore Cate Riley painted.

“For other scenes,” Boyd said, “Al has pulled landscapes like Maine outdoors at night and the Aurora Borealis off the web from royalty-free images. It’s like the weather on television. A person is reporting the weather, but they can’t see what’s behind them.”

Sounds like Steve’s and Al’s expertise, the kids’ commitment, and the magic of technology will make the play happen, I commented.

“And Gabe Yelanjian (production technician) is designing the lighting that works for this set,” Boyd said. “We’re filming this like a TV studio production. It’s like if you walked into any TV station when they do their newscast and see cables on the floor. In person, it’s messy. On the screen, it’ll look brilliant. Gabe is also designing the sound. We usually have the sound playing through our speakers. (For this production) it’s all being mixed for online through headphones. While the actors can hear each other and react to each other, they aren’t seeing or hearing the final product. Only the audience will experience that.”

Actors often feed off a live audience, especially when the house is full, I observed. How have they adjusted to the new format?

“When we had to cancel our spring play, students were extremely disappointed,” Boyd said. “Over the summer, we were honest with them every step of the way saying, here’s where we are, here’s what we think, and here’s what we think we can do. We never gave any false hope. There’s been great buy-in because we’re performing in-person. I actually heard two students saying how happy they were to be back in the theater. That was great to hear. We’ve been rehearsing virtually and in-person since August. Every step of the way, they’ve been enthusiastic. It’s been a great experience.”

“That, plus the fact that they’re doing something to the extent they can,” Boyd said. “They’re fully engaged and executing all of the aspects of theater that they need to do. They’re very excited to be here.”

“Yes,” Boyd said. “We’re pioneering the new reality of what theater is and can be. The only professional production that existed this summer was in Maine: a production of Godspell where they used plexiglass similar to what we’re doing.  We’re one of the first high schools in the country to do an in-person production with safety precautions and protocols that have been deemed safe by our administration and medical advisory team.

“We’re setting an example. We’ll make mistakes and learn. We’re just happy to be back and have people watch this. We’re eagerly anticipating their reaction.”
  ~ Weldon Bradshaw