Play “ing” with Zoom
What does a theater director do when there is no theater to direct in? Create one, of course! As we have all learned to move to remote teaching platforms, it is no surprise that Yoh Theater Director Marcia Bender did not miss a beat in relation to this spring’s production of “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nyugen.
Theater rehearsals went on as normal but instead of beginning in the theater each day at 3pm, they began on Zoom. When it became clear that there was not going to be a return to learning in the building, the cast and directors got creative with costumes from the shoulders up, animated drawings (over 1000 of them I think I heard, courtesy of Senior Eve Cole who heads off to Mass Art next fall to study animation), Zoom recordings, and lots of great editing (thanks in large part to Intern Lilian Buchangroff WUHS Class of 2015 and a recent college theater grad).
The end result? One of the most creative, engaging performances I have ever seen! Even if you are not a Dungeons and Dragons fan, you can relate to teens (and many others) creating their own world to escape into. In this production, you see that created world come to life directly below the “players” in the gallery above as Cole’s characters battle for power in this female-dominated world that is part mythology, part reality-TV show. A grieving older sister enters the game to connect with the sister she lost and the boundary between what is “real” gets blurred along the way.
In a talk-back after the performance, the actors noted the challenges with technology but also with acting from the shoulders up, creating virtual scenery, and acting in a play while alone in their rooms.
However, when you watch this performance, none of that is apparent. What you see is a play that appears to be made for this virtual space where viewers feel like they have entered the world as well, escaping this one, if only for 90 minutes. Bravo to the amazing actors and directors who made this happen!
There is one more performance on Friday night at 7pm. I highly suggest you escape to it:
Here is an invitation to the final presentation this Friday, June 5, at 7pm via Zoom Webinar of "She Kills Monsters" by Qui Nyugen. You are all welcome!
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Jun 5, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Yoh Theatre Presentation
Register in advance for this webinar:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.