ARTS
Starlight continues to shine The company takes to Facebook to entertain fans By Annika Tomlin
T
hrough all of COVID-19’s drama, theater patrons can still get their fix, thanks to Starlight Community The-
ater. “We’re mainly operating via Facebook,” says Dan Ashlock, Starlight Community Theater’s artistic director. “We are doing what we call a ‘Starlight Fan Video,’ where we ask our members to send in videos of them singing Broadway songs and we post one every day.” Members chosen songs from musicals like “Into the Woods,” “Grease” and “Seussical.” “Absolutely my favorite part is seeing how many people are being touched by fan videos,” Ashlock says. “Seeing the comments from the people that are enjoying videos and really just seeing how much fun people are having by watching the videos.”
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Ashlock says if the company runs out of videos to post he will contribute a song or two of his own. “I’ve considered doing something from ‘Camelot’ or something from ‘Hairspray,’ which are two completely different shows,” Ashlock says. While Facebook videos help to keep the theater members engaged, there are several others who can’t wait to hit the stage again. “Our show ‘Radium Girl’ that was in production when we closed has been having online rehearsals,” Ashlock says. “Once we’re able to reopen we’re hoping that we’ll get that show up and running within the next couple of weeks.” “Charlotte’s Web” was also in mid-production when the closures happened. Ashlock and his team keep in contact with the child cast members to rehearse online. “With them Zooming for school, by the time they get done with that and then come to
Zoom for Starlight, they’re kind of scattered,” Ashlock says. “I think they want the social interaction more than they want to practice the script, so we’re just letting that be as it is.” A third production, “Rock of Ages,” was pushed back because of the closure and will be rescheduled. “Right before the closure, we cast ‘Rock of Ages,’” Ashlock says. “We’ve had distribution of music and scripts during the closure. “Our plan once we fully open is to have these three shows go on. We may have to make adjustments for the season that is supposed to start in August.” Starlight’s board of directors has been meeting regularly to discuss when the theater will reopen and how the company will proceed with rescheduling. “Because we operate with an audience, when we reopen it will come down to whether or not people will come see live theater and support us,” Ashlock says. In the meantime, the company just finished its first completely digital production during the last week of May called “The Virtual Family” by Jeremy Johnson. “The play is a series of skits that show family members, pets and appliances in this day and age of quarantine, and it’s an all-ages script,” Ashlock says. In the play, the “Virtuals” are part Griswalds, part Jetsons, with a slew of technological advances that are meant to make life easier and bring the family together. However, the family becomes more disconnected. The 11-person cast shows people that maybe technological advances aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Ashlock and the rest of the Starlight crew hope to reopen when the time is right—and safe. “Because we are an arts organization that relies on ticket sales, it’s really important to say that we have a lot of donors who have come forward and have been giving us money to keep going,” Ashlock says. “We are thankful for them.” For up-to-date information about the status of Starlight Community Theater and to see more fan singing videos or the production of “The Virtual Family,” visit its Facebook page.
