When school went virtual last March, our winter musical performance was put in hold. This happened everywhere, of course, but we were hit especially hard because the call to postpone came just minutes before the end of the school day - just 3 hours before students would return for hair & make-up on opening night. The experience resulted in an incredible story of resiliency starring my students, but that's for another time.
Without a live event, and the uncertainty of what lay ahead, the creative team began exploring options to showcase the students' work in another way. We considered a scaled-back concert, outdoor performances, and inevitably some kind of stripped-down streaming presentation. Circumstances kept changing and, unfortunately, we ran out of time. The show was cancelled and in deference to the seniors, we decided not to repeat the show again the following year. One thing haunted me throughout the experience - if we had just recorded one dress rehearsal, we could have worked with the licensing company to present it online. Lesson learned. I would not make that mistake again.
This past winter, we forged ahead with the goal of a live performance, but with digital/streaming as a backup plan. I recorded something at least once every week as a way to document what we were doing behind the scenes and to get the audience acclimated to watching online... just in case.
We had plenty working against us, both Covid and non-Covid related. Eventually, the decision was made to film the show and stream online. The final two weeks were a unique experience that none of us will forget. While the result wasn't we wanted, streaming the show had plenty of positives. For one, we were able to have a show where we couldn't last year and likely wouldn't under the circumstances we faced. Also, being online expanded our audience beyond the doors of the auditorium to reach far away relatives, friends, and other theatre people who would not have seen the show live. Plus, the students had the unique experience of watching their performances "in real time".
On September 13, we will be 18 months removed from the first day of Covid quarantine. That is a long time to endure without an art program and I saw our survival in the push to keep doing something. In the professional field-at-large, there are organizations who found ways to continue producing their work digitally while others have struggled to survive. I get it. Theatre is live performance and doesn't always translate well to the screen (an irony that my middle school students pointed out when we were virtual), but surely that is better than nothing.
I've seen concern from some theatre artists via Twitter that some organizations and communities are moving away from digital presentation as buildings begin to open up again. It is surprising to see that given how successfully companies like the National Theatre in London, among others, had done so. I realize that the collaborative nature of theatre and the copyrights, licenses, contracts, and other elements provide a hurdle as currently constructed. Surely, with digital technology so prevalent and easy to access we should continue to explore ways to not only make the art accessible during times of inaccessibility, but more equitable, too.
PS - My assumption is that visual artists and organizations fared better during quarantine as digital is inherently visual. The art teacher at my school did an excellent job getting her students' work out online even though there was a large learning curve for her to do so). However, that is not my field and I really don't know the realities of the visual art world and would love to hear from some of you about that!
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