6 minute read
The Show Must Go On
ADAPTING THE ARTS TO A VIRTUAL FORMAT
By Kathy Kirkaldie
When UW went online during the spring 2020 semester in response to the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic, the Departments of Theatre and Dance and Music were forced to cancel several events in their performance seasons, including symphony and ensemble concerts, a conference, and a main stage theatre production.
As virtual learning continued into the summer term, and the fall reopening plan remained in flux, it became clear that the performing arts departments would need to prepare for a potentially virtual season, both in terms of performance and rehearsal.
“Theatre has survived for over 2,500 years, and it will continue through a pandemic,” Theatre and Dance department chair Dr. Margaret Wilson says. “Our commitment is to our students, faculty, and patrons to create meaningful work”
And, certainly, the arts have flourished through trying times. William Shakespeare, whose life was bookended by outbreaks of the bubonic plague, wrote three of his greatest tragedies—“King Lear,” “Macbeth,” and “Antony and Cleopatra”—with the theatres dark during the 1606 London outbreak.
But how does one begin to plan a performance season with so much uncertainty in play? How does one connect with audiences and other artists effectively?
Both departments found the answers in employing new technologies and being adaptable.
The Department of Theatre and Dance took up the challenge first. The Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance season was about to get underway in June and July, and a quick pivot was needed to ensure the season could move forward.
Scott Tedmon-Jones, artistic director for summer, consulted early with others in the industry struggling to produce live theatre in a virtual space. With everyone from kindergartners to corporate executives meeting on Zoom, this approach seemed feasible for company members to communicate, but less than ideal in providing real-time interactions between performers. Tedmon-Jones solicited advice from Pixel Playhouse in particular, which had livestreamed a production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Ernest” early on in the pandemic.
“That guidance was extremely helpful as we set out to create a production in a new format,” Tedmon-Jones says.
The season was reduced to one show, Yasmina’s Reza’s comedy “God of Carnage,” for which streaming rights could be readily secured. The technical company, headed by faculty member Jason Banks, settled on using OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software), a media switcher program that combines live video and audio elements to create a program composition. OBS allowed Banks and his team to create various scenes that they used to move through the narrative of the play.
“The combination of the software and live signal feed hardware allowed us to connect live to our actors in varying locations, and to put those camera feeds together for one cohesive show environment,” Banks says.
God of Carnage dress rehearsal screenshots with Lauren Asher, Andrew Thornton, Mary Dyson and Justen Glover (photos by Scott Tedmon-Jones)
Scene shop foreman Donald P. Turner’s setup for the “29” recording
This approach was fine-tuned for the scaled-down and virtual Snowy Range Summer Dance Festival, which presented several, free virtual classes a day over three days to dancers and teachers in mid-July.
In anticipation of the fall semester, the faculty changed the production season, dropping a large-cast musical, while playwright-in-residence and Professor William Missouri Downs wrote a comedy for Zoom addressing the current moment, “Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life.” The production ran in late September and early October almost seamlessly, thanks to the technological groundwork laid by Tedmon-Jones and Banks.
The season continued with “29,” a song cycle being rehearsed virtually and was presented as a recording “Our commitment in January. For its part, the Department of Music typically is to our students, offers more than a hundred performances each year that range from large ensembles, small chamber music groups, solo recitals, and faculty faculty, and patrons recitals. The Department adjusted its concert lineup by offering live-streamed events and to create meaningful recorded performances for patrons. The UW Symphony, conducted by Dr. work”
Michael Griffith, set its season early but with the theme of “the best laid plans of mice o’ men,” - Dr. Margaret Wilson indicating that event details could change at any moment. As Dr. Griffith observed, “The more I plan, the more Burns’ words ring in my ears.” Adapting to UW’s phased, in-person return to campus required auditions, rehearsals, and classes in the first part of the semester to be held virtually. Once allowed on campus, musicians had to be socially distanced, 15 feet for vocalists, 10 feet for wind players, and 6 feet for others, which strictly limited ensemble size for all large ensembles such as the UW Symphony, Wind Symphony, and Collegiate Chorale. As difficult as circumstances were for instrumentalists, singers faced even more challenges in practicing and performing together, and are currently learning and making musical experiences together through virtual platforms. And incumbent for every performance, audiences had to remain offsite. In response, Department of Music Chair Scott Turpen invested in a new multi-camera, high-definition, livestreaming set up in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall, assisted by Caleb Hebbert, Manager of Technical Services, and his staff. “While this is a challenging time in many ways, the Department of Music is embracing this challenge by finding new ways to teach and learn music,” Turpen says. “Our students will learn new skills in recording technology and performance media.”
UWYO student saxophonist recording his part of a jazz piece remotely
Once the technology was in place, livestreams for each concert planned for fall were scheduled under the department’s channel on YouTube.
All concerts are offered free of charge, and each has a discrete YouTube link available here:
Some concerts only have the rights to be streamed live, such as the recent UW Symphony offering on Oct. 1. But many others will become available as recordings once the livestream has ended.
Some ensembles are creating recordings in lieu of livestreams. The Wyoming Jazz Ensemble will be releasing its second commercial album in spring 2020, with student performers recording their parts individually at home and then submitting them for mixing and editing. Many of the tracks on the album will be accompanied by videos of the ensemble playing, which will be uploaded to YouTube throughout the fall.
All UW choirs—Collegiate Chorale, Civic Chorus, Bel Canto, Singing Statesmen—are collaborating on a series of virtual recording projects that will be posted online when complete.
“Because the choral art allows us to focus deeply on text and poetry, we have selected repertoire that embodies the ideals of strength, resiliency, and hope, as we find solace in our choral community,” Director of Choral Activities Dr. Holly Dalrymple says.
Repertoire for these performances includes “No Time” arranged by Susan Brumfield; “Sure on This Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen; “O Love” by Elaine Hagenberg; and “Amazing Grace” arranged by Robert Gibson.
“We hope to engage our current audience while also reaching out to a larger community across the State of Wyoming to find new listeners,” Turpen says.
