Adapting Theatre in a Pandemic

By Sarah Woods, Director of Communications and Julie Robles, Director of Theatre/Technical Theatre

Creative and Determined are the two Allen-Stevenson code words that come to mind when describing the boys who have participated in theatre during the pandemic.

Julie Robles, Director of Theatre and Theatre Tech, said, “The biggest challenge has been shifting from acting for an audience to performing to a 13-inch screen.”

“Everything we have done to be able to continue our theatre program has been a collaborative effort. We’ve had to reconfigure everything we are doing,” said Ms. Robles.

“Adaptiveness, a critical skill in the theatre, has been key to ensuring we have been able to bring the community our annual plays and Gilbert & Sullivan. The changing state of COVID has certainly kept us on our toes.”

Ms. Robles explained that every production has a rough skeleton of a rehearsal schedule, with the deadline of opening night—that is when the show needs to be ready to come alive for the audience. With the end goal always in mind, the cast and crew build the show together.

“Building the show has seen much more creative input from the boys. We’ve used fewer props and set pieces, and had to think about how to use technology to bring the show to life,” explained Ms. Robles.

“For the tech piece, the Tech Crew has definitely stepped up to take on this challenge. Because the boys’ computer and editing knowledge is so advanced, I have had to put even more trust in the boys’ hands. It’s been wonderful to have the depth and breadth of their tech knowledge to create and design these digital productions. There are many occasions when the boys teach me various aspects of this type of technical design.”

“I’ve also loved seeing how the boys are working together as a group, putting their thumbprint on each show,” said Ms. Robles. Costumes are coming together

“For Patience last year, we had to figure out how to create unity in the final video,” said Tiger Mutter ’22, who is also on the Tech Crew again this year. “Getting all the singers, who we recorded separately to be in sync was really tough. In terms of the filming, though, it was easier because we only had to film one actor at a time and only the actor’s head. There were no other moving parts.” “This year, the filming of the different scenes for the Saturday Night Live sketches is more challenging, but it’s probably easier to pull together in terms of the tech piece. We’ll need to bring everything into a consistent tone, so there’s consistency for the final video,” added Jackson Smith ’22.

However, the biggest challenge overall is probably time, all the Tech Crew agreed.

“I’m often on the phone for hours in the evening with Adrian Coste figuring out which aperture to use and how to frame something,” said Jackson Smith ’22. “Our next big production is H.M.S. Pinafore. We will actually get to work on the sound and light board, which is very exciting,” said Adrian Coste ’22.

Ms. Robles smiled and said, “I can’t wait until we can perform to a live audience again. Hopefully, soon. Of course, that will come with its own set of challenges. Most of the boys who are performing now haven’t had a chance to act on the stage in the Assembly Hall at Allen-Stevenson, so that will require training, and we will have to begin mastering the sound and light equipment from scratch with our Tech Crew. Though, as you can imagine, I’d welcome any of these challenges just to feel the energy and excitement that comes from pulling a large-scale production together!”

Tech Crew from left to right: Adrian C., Ari D., Tiger M., Matthew J., Jackson S.