Pure Reimagination: Remixing the Arts for Online Audiences

After more than a year at home, our student artists pioneered impressive new ways to rehearse, perform and engage with audiences, with live streamed performances, on-demand video streams and online exhibitions. Regardless of what the future holds, Theatre Conservatory Director Maryanne Householder is confident that Mayfield’s artists “will be ready for the challenge.”

When the going gets tough, musicians get creative.

Our students stayed in sync and found new ways to share their music.

Car choir.

What does a group of self-proclaimed “choir nerds” do when health authorities deem singing a high-risk activity? Well, they continue choir rehearsals over Zoom, of course—despite the pesky sound and sync issues—and they keep dreaming of finding a way to sing together safely. Inspired by a choral group featured on NPR, our Women’s Ensemble pioneered the first Mayfield “car choir”—a pandemic workaround that let each student sing from the safety of her own vehicle and get real-time feedback from Vocal Conservatory Director Andrew Alvarez. After a year of singing online, it was harmony heaven! “They were so happy to finally hear what the music is supposed to sound like together,” Mr. Alvarez said. “And they commented how it felt so awesome to sing together again and how much they missed each other.”

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu…

The Senior Farewell Concert is a bittersweet annual tradition for our graduating Vocal Conservatory members—they get a final shared moment in the spotlight, knowing they’ll probably never sing together again. But this year’s concert was more about the “hellos” than the “goodbyes.” When our singers assembled on the North Porch of Strub Hall, the atmosphere was charged with the joy of reconnecting in person after more than a year of at-home learning. And, to the delight—but certainly not the surprise!—of our at-home Zoom live stream audience, our vocal artists delivered a crystalclear, pitch-perfect performance, even while wearing face masks. Brava to our Women’s Ensemble, Vocal Foundation Choir and A-Cubella a cappella group!

Driving beat.

To help celebrate this year’s Mission-Driven Benefit at the Petersen Automotive Museum (see page 50), our Instrumental Conservatory musicians recorded a remote (and rocking!) version of Tom Cochrane’s 1991 hit “Life Is A Highway”—a song perhaps best known to younger audiences from the “Cars” animated movie soundtrack. Home for Christmas. If home is where the heart is, our spirits were transported to 500 Bellefontaine by a truly heartfelt rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by our student and young alum musicians at our Virtual Carol Night. We all joined in on Zoom to watch a full program of fun and festive favorite tunes before raising our voices together (remotely!) for some classic carol singalongs.

Home for Christmas.

If home is where the heart is, our spirits were transported to 500 Bellefontaine by a truly heartfelt rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by our student and young alum musicians at our Virtual Carol Night. We all joined in on Zoom to watch a full program of fun and festive favorite tunes before raising our voices together (remotely!) for some classic carol singalongs.

The show must go on(line)! Shakespeare’s heroines meet up on Zoom.

This year, theatre students embraced an ageless theatrical tradition—they made do.

When the 2020-21 theatre season had to start remotely, Theatre Conservatory Director Maryanne Householder didn’t fuss. Auditions? She could hold them on Zoom. Plenty of actors prepare remote auditions at the best of times. Rehearsals? A ton of play preparation involves research, which could be done online, too. No sweat. And Ms. Householder’s can-do attitude extended to the selection of the fall production as well. She chose a one-act play without too many technical requirements, dealing with material that she loves to teach, and a story that would make the actors shine.

Students recorded their scenes for “When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet” on Zoom, and audience members were able to stream the show on demand.

“When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet” proved a great fit in every way. It’s a contemporary comedy that revolves around five of the Bard’s best-known heroines trying to convince Juliet to stay clear of Romeo. “I’m a big Shakespeare person. I love Shakespeare,” says Ms. Householder.

And in spite of the pivot the cast was forced to make, these eight young women playing five legendary roles still found ways for meaningful connections with the text—and each other. Olivia de Cardenas ’22, one of the two students playing Ophelia, definitely misses the in-person energy, but is still finding joy in this process. “I love the community we have in theatre,” she gushes.

Following the success of “Shakespeare’s Ladies,” Ms. Householder decided to go all out for the online spring musical with the first-ever “Cubs Cabaret.” This limited streaming event featured Mayfield student artists performing musical theatre milestones in monologue, dance and song. This familyfriendly extravaganza showcased an all-hit songbook from Broadway shows including "Aladdin,” “Wicked,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Legally Blonde.”

We asked Ms. Householder about the challenges and the silver linings of these pandemic performances.

What inspired you to try these new approaches?

My inspiration has, and always will be, the students. Their drive and determination towards the arts is always where I draw my inspiration from. I started seeing large-scale theatres promoting and continuing to work during this pandemic, and I knew that I had to do the same, not only for my students but for myself. I can say without a doubt the reason why theatre has lasted as long as it has is because it adapts to the current situations of the world.

Can you describe what a typical “rehearsal” looked like?

Since the fall production, I have been able to master the virtual rehearsal! I worked with the girls on selecting a recurring time slot each week where we met and went over their pieces. We worked on a variety of things throughout the rehearsal process ranging from voice, breath, movement, pacing, emotion, costumes, etc. Theatre is centered around communication and collaboration. With the help of Zoom, we were able to successfully have rehearsals and create a connection as well. I am forever grateful for the growing resources and technology that has helped myself and my students create theatre.

What about performing online?

As for the performances, it definitely has been a learning curve. The students were excellent about submitting their performances and following the guidelines for filming. Then I had the task of editing hours of footage and piecing together what I hope viewers will enjoy as if they are in a live audience. I definitely can add film editor to my resume after this unique experience!

Theatre Director Maryanne Householder playfully reminded her students that mask-wearing is an ancient theatrical tradition.

Thank you, Mr T.

This year we bid farewell to longtime Mayfield film and photography teacher Paul Tzanetopoulos, lovingly known on campus as Mr. T. In an interview with the Mayfield Crier student newspaper, Mr. T told Arts Co-Editor-In-Chief Ashlee Smith ’22 that his favorite part of teaching is creating what he calls “epiphany moments” in the classroom. “I really like sharing things and the possibility of bringing things to someone who may just not have encountered it,” Mr. T explained. “I just think it’s so precious and cool to be privileged enough to bring some thoughts or ideas to anybody, but especially students.” We are immensely grateful for the inspiration and knowledge that this renowned artist has shared with our Conservatory students over his 17-year tenure at Mayfield. We look forward to seeing what Mr. T creates next!