卢克·乔根森(李·佩莱格里尼)
去年春天冠状病毒大流行爆发时, the 剧院部门/Robsham Theater 艺术s Center productions—then in full swing—came to an abrupt halt. A play, “The Wolves,” was set to open, and the musical “City of Angels,” had had only one rehearsal. This semester, the shows will go on, amid strict safety protocols and in vastly different forms. These uncharted presentations will once again capture and portray the talents, 能源, 热情, 奉献, 包括学生在内的所有人都在努力工作, 教师, 工作人员.
戏剧系系主任卢克·乔根森, 执业副教授, recently discussed fall plans and provided insights into the creative efforts of the production teams. 筹备工作并不容易, 他指出, and would have been impossible without the full support of Morrissey College of 艺术s and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., Morrissey College Associate Dean Eugene McMahon, and Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley.
您对疫情对表演艺术的影响有何看法?
表演艺术受到新冠肺炎的严重打击. 当疫情爆发时，我们立即关闭了工厂. 对我们所有的学生来说，这是一段艰难而激动的时期. In approaching this this year, I wanted to find a way to make performances happen. As an academic theater department, our productions are vital laboratory experiences for students. 我们不想放弃表演, but wanted to make sure that whatever we did was done in the safest way possible. Once we created a plan for how we could accomplish goals using technology like Zoom, 绿幕和电影剪辑, 我们需要对技术进行一些升级. 这学期是一次真正的实验. We have all been challenged to learn new approaches to making performances and acquiring the skills needed to bring these plans to fruition. 这是我们最忙的一个学期, 教职员工都在努力适应这个新世界. Our 教师, staff, and students have been fantastic, absolutely above and beyond.
让我们看看今年秋天的两部作品吧.
我们这一季从《电子游戏正规平台》开始[10月22日至25日], 2017年，林恩·诺塔奇获得普利策奖. 《电子游戏软件》讲述了宾夕法尼亚州雷丁市一群工厂工人的故事. 当裁员开始时, 种族问题也是如此, 歧视, 以及今天困扰着我们国家的贫困问题. 教员帕特里夏·里金(Patricia Riggin)执导了这部震撼人心的现代剧. 之后，我们 戏剧艺术莫南教授，Paula Plum他正在执导威廉·莎士比亚的《电子游戏软件》(11月19日至22日). She is an extremely accomplished actor/director and is presenting this production of one of Shakespeare’s best comedies as a film. These shows are wildly different in tone, subject, and method of performance delivery.
它们将如何呈现 按照大流行协议?
我们很早就决定今年所有的海选都是虚拟的. 学生 submitted audition videos, and even callbacks have been conducted via Zoom. Both shows are using the normal time frames that we use to make our shows but they are anything but “normal” in production. “汗水”是通过Zoom网络研讨会的形式制作的, with an exciting twist: 学生 will be performing live in eight separate offices. 参与制作的几位bbc演员现在在家, 州了, 并且参加了所有的虚拟排练. 每个办公室都将配备绿色屏幕和灯，我们的学生, with the help of the talented Production Manager Russ Swift and Technical Supervisor George Cooke, will manipulate the green screen with virtual backgrounds to look as if the actors are together and in a bar. 我们确实在这个媒介中处于表现的最前沿, experimenting with ways to use Zoom in a new way; at one point, students may even physically switch offices to make exits and entrances on screen appear more normal.
《电子游戏软件》将以电影形式放映. With some help from the Film Department, we have begun filming in front of a huge green screen. 音乐人的融合, 打斗场面, and physically-intimate-feeling 阻塞 are 当然 more challenging from a proper physical distance. Performing with masks in acting classes and rehearsals make matters more difficult, 当然, 但即兴创作是从事艺术工作的人的核心. So even though our students are not yet doing a rehearsal and performance in the usual way, 我相信学生们正在接受新事物, 更广泛的技能组合, 无论是在技术上还是在电影和银幕上.
“这学期是一次真正的实验. We have all been challenged to learn new approaches to making performances and acquiring the skills needed to bring these plans to fruition. 这是我们最忙的一个学期, 教职员工都在努力适应这个新世界. Our 教师, staff, and students have been fantastic, absolutely above and beyond.”
What are the challenges of these approaches—for directors, cast, crew, others?
COVID预防措施影响了生产的各个层面, 从试镜到服装, 阻塞, 谁能看我们的节目，怎么看. 目前的规定规定一次演出只能有25人参加. 这包括演员、技术人员、舞台管理人员和观众. Plays at 电子游戏软件 involve so many students that it has made more sense to not include any live audience. Our actors are used to reacting to the 能源 of the audience: They will not hear gasps or laughter at these shows, 这对他们来说将是一种全新的体验. 学生 will have their own individual props that won’t be shared with other actors. 化妆和服装将需要在没有其他人帮助的情况下处理, 我们的服装店已经采取了严格的措施来确保安全，就像洗衣一样, 配件, 戏服的保养也要做. Next semester we will continue to make theater within COVID protocols and are looking at new options like outdoor presentations.
Why did you decide to move forward with productions, given the added challenges?
I recognize that many colleges have made the decision not to have performances this year. 我相信在困难时期最需要艺术. 我觉得这是我们欠学生的, 谁会因为我们的节目而来到BC, to do our best to adapt to the new rules and regulations without buckling under them. 专业剧院关门，艺术家入不敷出. We are fortunate that the University can allow us to function without the concern of box office gains, 所以我们的节目基本上是免费的. 这些都是未知的水域, but I hope that people choose to tune in; who knows, perhaps a larger audience of people who would not be able to be physically present at Robsham can 看到 the talent and effort of our students. 这并不容易. Negotiating how staff and students can be safe and feel safe has been a daily task.
你认为观众会有什么反应?
That is the question; we are all wondering. 我想我们都很怀念一起看比赛，一起打球的感觉. 当我们都坐在同一个地方时，没有什么能取代相互作用的感觉, 呼吸同样的空气，一起见证戏剧的创作. 然而, we hope that we are using these mediums in a very creative way and I think the 能源 our students are putting forth is really going to come through the camera and shine.
“Performing with masks in acting classes and rehearsals make matters more difficult, 当然, 但即兴创作是从事艺术工作的人的核心. So even though our students are not yet doing a rehearsal and performance in the usual way, 我相信学生们正在接受新事物, 更广泛的技能组合, 无论是在技术上还是在电影和银幕上.”
这些作品对学生来说是全新的体验. 他们会学到什么??
Improvisation, resiliency, adaptability, creative problem-solving, and communication. 我们的戏剧学生想要在BC现场和亲自. They are following the rules and stretching to make the absolute best within the situation we have been dealt.
学生导演的作品还在继续吗?
学生制作的作品发生了变化，但仍在上演. 困难在于他没有能力做音乐剧. Singing is problematic within pandemic prevention rules, so some shows have been changed. I think it has taken our students and our department some time to look at the situation and adapt to it, 但学生自导自演的节目即将到来. Two have just been cast and next semester audiences can look forward to more student-directed theater including “The History of Color” directed by Allison Lardner ’21, 以及雅各布·凯莱赫导演的《电子游戏正规平台》.
对这个不寻常的季节有什么告别的想法吗?
我为我们今年的赛季感到骄傲. 我们努力工作，不仅是为了在大流行期间生存和繁荣, but also to choose theater that creates a dialogue about anti-racism and diversity.
For more on the fall 剧院部门/Robsham Theater 艺术s Center productions, 以及如何看待它们, 看到 yinghuiqibao.com/theatre.
Rosanne Pellegrini |大学传播| 2020年10月