Performing Arts in Review Members of Cushing’s Performing Arts Department became masters of improvisation in a year like no other. Faculty rose to the challenge and found ways to continue to guide students and help them develop new skills even amid unusual barriers. THEATRE
Cushing Theatre presented two full main-stage productions, in many ways embracing the challenges of pandemic restrictions rather than fighting against them. COVID protocols, of course, had to be of primary concern. A few years ago, Performing Arts Department Chair Julia Ohm saw a play in Boston, a new work that intrigued her. Small Mouth Sounds, by Beth Wohl, requires a small cast of diverse actors without any specific family themes or requirements. The setting was a retreat—specifically structured around silence. “What could be better?” Ohm thought. “We could stage it outside the library, a space we’d used before and in fact a beautiful arc-like shape, reminiscent of theaters of ancient Greece.
By May, things had improved somewhat, and the program staged
We could build a small platform, use masks, and work in a medium
The Fantasticks via video streaming. The longest-running Off-
we’d never explored. Very little to no talking.”
Broadway musical is a classic, with a small cast and timeless story. Music Director Desh Hindle hired musicians to record the score
It was certainly a challenge for the young performers, but ideal
to avoid bringing anyone to campus. This gave the performers
given the restrictions of a pandemic. Working outside presented
the ability to enjoy a live performance milieu without taking any
its own impediments—the weather, electrical connections that
risks or breaking campus protocol. The rehearsal schedule was
choose to work better on some days than others. Still, the faculty
understandably complicated due to spring break, the inability to
and performers persevered and produced three successful shows
rehearse due to quarantine until two weeks after their return, and
that were livestreamed. “We were probably the only educational
singing being prohibited for all but a few weeks during the spring
institution in the Northeast to stage any theatrical presentation
term. However, the final show (done with masks) was filmed in the
during the fall semester,” Ohm said.
Chapel with a minimal live audience of close relatives of the cast
In many ways, the program embraced the challenges of pandemic restrictions rather than fighting against them. and crew. “It was important for our treasured seniors to have this closure to their performing arts career at Cushing,” Ohm said. “It was equally necessary for us to give them the send-off theatrically that they deserved.”
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