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The Theory of Virtual Acting

By Madison Jones

Despite the challenges posed to holding performances during the pandemic, the Drama Guild has successfully run three events over the quarantined course of the past year. Last spring, they performed a song from Footloose, in fall, they put on their version of the play Spoon River Anthology, and now in 2021, they brought us the musical The Theory of Relativity, all through the virtual medium.

For the past three months, director Katherine “Kit” Niesen, technical producers Alex Venarchik, Brennen Judge, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and musical director Marian Sunnergren, have been working to produce a two-hour long virtual performance, which consisted of stories ranging from a guy who is allergic to his fiancée's cats, to a girl dealing with a toxic ex-boyfriend; all are delivered through a variety of songs and monologues.

Eventually, members got into a rhythm. They would sing along with their microphones off, and the music director, Ms. Sunnergren, would play the instrumental version of the songs. It was great, until someone had to a duet. That was almost a magic act. They had to unmute and start the instrumental version at the exact same time, or else they would be completely off track.

Then, they had to record the actual singing of the students. To record, the actors played the music in their ears, and with a second device, they recorded themselves singing. Then, the actors would go into the TV studio at school, scheduled in one-hour slots, to film the actors performing along to the music. Kit and Mr. Fitzgerald would play the music and they would lip sync along to it.

In the production this year, there were 23 students and no stage crew. There were five people producing the musical, two student directors and a choreographer.

Sophomore Niharika Roy, a member of the ensemble and back-up singer in Me and Ricky, said the biggest struggle this year was not being able to perform in person with other Guilders. “There was a little more insecurity because we have built a little community that helps us to able to feel safe in,” said Roy.

Senior Jonathan Ran, who plays Adam in a series of solo songs, says his favorite character was Anthony and his favorite scene was a back-and-forth monologue between two characters. Anthony falls in love with a girl named Jenny; it is love at first sight but only for him.

Senior Olivia Bedell, who played Mira and was a student director, and agreed with Roy that her biggest struggle was feeling like a part of the Drama Guild community. “When we are in person, that community is so tight and special, so trying to find that virtually was a challenge.”

Senior Melanie Zhang, who plays Amy in a large monologue, says her favorite scene was the ensemble song Nothing Without You, a song about the challenges of life and how nothing is as it seems.

Sophomore Dami Babalola, who is a member of the ensemble and backup singer in Me and Ricky, says the hardest part of Drama Guild this year was recording the ensemble parts, and that her favorite character was Julie who decides to sing to her four cats about her fiancé.

Senior Kieran O’Donnell who is a member of the ensemble found that not being able to hear anyone singing was frustrating and difficult. Also,freshman Nikhil Gokhale who played Mike in the song Apples and Oranges, agreed with O’Donnell. However, as a novice performer, he very much enjoyed his part in the scene Great Expectations, a large ensemble piece that discusses how children sometimes take a course in life that their parents did not want them to embark upon.

Junior Zoe Chasinoff, played Toni, but her favorite character was Caroline and song was You Will Never Know.

As most of the actors stated, they much prefer in-person performances and freshman Maya Maloskey, who plays Kate in a series of monologues, was no exception. Her greatest challenge was learning the harmonies to songs, as some could be challenging and intricate.

“I missed not being able to fully connect to create an amazing performance,” said Junior Sam Horvath who played Sarah.

Unlike most cast members, junior Katie Pendergast who played Jenny did not have a favorite scene.

“I just could not decide because every scene is so good!” said Pendergast.

Senior Colin Search played the character Paul probably summed up the challenges of this year’s virtual play.

“For me, I definitely think staying focused and interested in the show was difficult. It’s normally an activity built off working with others. When your online, it’s not easy to collaborate with others, and even when you try to replicate that group feeling that you’d normally get, it falls flat, because the best moments and interactions in a theater group come from sharing a space and working off another person,” said Search.

And perhaps in a world were everything is coming by way of the computer, keeping track of meetings can get weary too. Junior Nicholas Shah, who was Oliver, said the hardest part of virtual Drama Guild this year was remembering when he had rehearsals.

The show ran on April 22 at 7 p.m and could be viewed on-demand on April 23 and 24. Due to the licensing agreement, the Drama Guild will not be sending out a video of the production. This fall as always, they hope to perform a play and another musical next spring. We all hope that they will be live and in-person, performing to an enthusiastic audience.


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