rescripted.org: In early March, Emma Durbin was midway through writing her capstone project for her playwriting BFA at DePaul University. The workshop of Durbin’s landscape was to be the first time she had worked with a team of professionals on a script of her own. The self-titled “playwright, dramaturg, and amateur sports climber” had been developing landscape for over six-months: drafting proposals, consulting with mentors, researching rock climbing in early-1900’s Scotland — and, of course, writing, rereading, and revising.
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Although theatre is now seen almost as taboo through this pandemic, Zoom theatre has certainly proven to be a viable option for some productions. Although you can’t put on a full-scale musical through zoom, small shows with a static set and few characters could definitely be high quality on zoom and created with a smaller budget. Most technical aspects could even still be shown through zoom. A scenic designer can create a virtual background for the actors to use. The sound designer can still create and play sound effects. A costume designer could still create a costume for each character. The real major downside to Zoom theatre is that the actors will no longer be able to work off each other. Each actor will have to start saying their next line a second or so before the normally would in real life.
When the pandemic first started and it became clear that all theaters would have to shut down, I thought that that was it for a while- no more shows to watch for the time being. But I was wrong.
I had truly never imagined that something like a theatrical show could be performed in any medium other than in- person given how much the theater industry thrives on its "live performance" aspect; I mean that is why even with the presence of a budding film fraternity, theater still drives audiences.
Zoom has been a saviour of sorts in the last few months: online classes, meetings, activities- the medium has proven useful in delivering all of the above. And it seems like even though it can be a bit strenuous at times, Zoom has managed to prove as a viable medium for theater artists, allowing them to present their work to the world, albeit in a different way.
Creating, producing, and showcasing theater remotely via Zoom seems to be a daunting task for many theater-makers during the current pandemic, however many are finding that the community’s best opportunity to continue work is by adapting and changing the way we think about virtual “Zoom theater”. Alisa Boland goes as far as saying that “Zoom theater, for all its promise, is hardly theater” and while some may agree with this, the other possibility open to creators is brainstorming new ideas, and evolving our thinking to incorporate new aspects of theater making. Arti Ishak has been directing actors to draw from the film industry because their faces are shown in such greater detail during these virtual productions, and are attempting to express their character’s emotions from the shoulders up. This expands the cast’s acting experience and provides a new opportunity for different skills. Additionally, theater companies are finding that by involving their audience in seeing the entire production process unfold virtually, they can continue to produce a season of work even though it has become more about showcasing the production process then the final show. All of this has created a new space for playwrights to develop new plays which can relate to the times and are designed for a Zoom format. While virtual theater is new and daunting to many, it opens up space for creative ways to present work to the audience, oftentimes to people who may not have been able to see it otherwise.
The work being done to develop new work during a pandemic and to workshop that over Zoom is admirable, but as many people interviewed in this article have said Zoom theater is not theater. That’s very obvious for someone like me who often doesn’t get involved in a production until load in. The work that dramaturgs, directors, and actors are doing does not leave much room for a technician to be involved. One thing that I am intrigued by is what theater may look like when social distancing requirements but there are still no in-person live audiences. I can see small circles of actors gathered in an apartment (or students in a dorm for college settings) with a webcam set up to catch all the action. This has successfully been done with TV shows like Big Brother and movies like Paranormal Activity. I think that this format could be successful for plays like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I hope that this middle ground, whether it’s in homes or empty theaters happens soon so that the rest of us and not just dramaturgs and playwrights can get back to work.
In the article, someone is quoted talking about how theater on zoom isn't real theater and I strongly agree. While at this point in time the options for live performance are limited I don't feel that it is fair to call zoom theater an equivalent to live in-person performance. One doesn't get the important relationship between audience and actors over zoom. I feel like this is the one irreplicable thing about theater on zoom. But while this is our reality I feel that Zoom performance can be elevated to a level that engages the audience and actors together. It is definitely has a learning curve for the cast and crew but as people learn zoom I'm sure that the production value will increase. I'm very curious to see how theater will move forward both during COVID times and then after. Will Zoom and other platforms have a place in theater after it is no longer necessary?
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