Looking back on an unusual year for CGS Upper School’s theatre program
Catlin Gabel School’s (CGS) theatre program has had a very unusual year, subject to both the restrictions of theatre spaces and to those of schools. While many mainstream theatre groups shut down entirely - Broadway isn’t set to reopen until August - CGS Upper School theatre was able to put on three performances this year. Of those three, two were completely virtual and the third, a mix of virtual, hybrid, and in person.
Initially, the first impressions of both students and teachers about a virtual year of theatre were a little hesitant, or even lacking hope.
“When this all started, I just thought, oh my goodness, can we just cancel until this is over, because theatre is not meant to be remote,” said Elizabeth Gibbs, Upper School Theater Director.
Oliver Chally, a ninth grader who performed in all three of the productions and wrote the one act “Acts of Oneness”, was unsure. Having attempted a virtual play in eighth grade at the end of 2020 that was later scrapped, Chally said that he felt as though “if there was something that we could act in, that would be great… bare minimum.”
Kate Andrews, a new ninth grader who acted in “A Killer Party” and acted in and directed a one act, had expectations that were low or non-existent for the start of the year. “It was a pandemic,” she explained, and while she grew to accept online acting, she began the year dreading it.
“Going in, I was not hopeful,” she said.
The first show, “A Fifteen Minute Hamlet” and “The Actor’s Nightmare”, happened live on Zoom on Oct. 16 and 17.
“It was fun, but it was a total mess,” said Gibbs.
Mia Bane, Director of Technical Theater, agreed, saying that the first show was “really bumpy, but everyone had a good time.”
In one scene in “A Fifteen Minute Hamlet”, for example, multiple actors were trying to stab each other, but the Zoom windows moved, resulting in actors stabbing the wrong box.
“The performers did a great job rolling with it, but it wasn’t ideal,” Gibbs finished.
For the second virtual musical, “A Killer Party”, the group took a different approach, choosing to record their sections of the play separately, then editing them together.
Gibbs acknowledged that it was a better final product than the first performance, but that it was a massive amount of work for the performers, as well as Matt Woodard, Upper School Digital Arts Teacher, and eleventh grader Megan Cover, who edited it together.
Andrews, who acted in “A Killer Party”, expressed disapproval at “how much time had to be put in for just recording things, especially with the musical.” Every clip of the musical had to be recorded, then watched back to confirm that it was good enough, then submitted, over, and over, and over.
“It was a lot,” she concluded.
“A Killer Party” was also unique in its development. Actors, both from Broadway and television, wrote and performed it digitally while on lockdown, then released it to the world as a web series.
The pre-recorded method also had other drawbacks.
“We missed that kind of sense of community,” Gibbs said, “[which] is one of the really important and valuable things about putting on a show.”
One acts, the final production from CGS’s theatre program for this year, took a hybrid approach. Playwrights were given a situation - virtual, hybrid, or in-person - and wrote a play more tailored to the environment.
“I think in some ways, that was the most fluid [way],” Gibbs said.
“So professional!” Bane noted, adding that the learning experiences of the previous two shows were helpful.
Andrews thought that directing a one act over Zoom was “interesting.” “I don’t think I realized quite how much work it is,” she laughed. “It was really eye-opening to try and do it.”
Even with the pandemic restrictions, the year was both enjoyable and informative. Bane, for example, really enjoyed “watching how much everyone grew through the process.”
Compared to their initial expectations of the year, most, if not all, involved were pleasantly surprised with how the theatre program ended up turning out this year.
“I’m glad that I didn’t give into my initial despair and actually persevered, ‘cause it turned out that there was a lot more that was possible,” Gibbs said.
“It actually surpassed my expectations, it was quite impressive that they managed to get everything together as well as they did,” Chally agreed. He also admired that the theatre department was able to do all of the planned shows, including a musical.
“I had a duet with someone, and that worked!” he exclaimed.
Moments of in-person interaction, conspicuously absent during virtual rehearsals and performances, were special this year. For “A Killer Party”, the cast and crew were able to throw a screening party together in the Gerlinger Media Auditorium, which Chally described as “really fun.”
Andrews “really actually enjoyed all of the aspects,” as well as being impressed by the high-quality final products of the year.
Even though the year wasn’t perfect, both Andrews and Chally would participate in theatre again if they were to do this year over, as well as planning to do at least one play again next year.
Beyond giving both theatre teachers and students an opportunity to explore new ways of performing, COVID-19 also allowed groups to take a closer look at areas of the art that they normally left unexplored.
Gibbs’s musical theatre class, for instance, was able to take a deeper dive into the history of tap dancing in the United States, including influential people in tap dancing and its cultural tie-ins, which she described as “really valuable.”
When Bane’s technical theatre classes weren’t able to work on the scenic aspects of plays as much as they normally would, they instead pivoted to focusing on design, covering every aspect of it for a show, and increased collaboration with actors and other students.
Some technical theatre students were also able to work on specific areas that they wanted, like Braden Wells, senior, who did the costumes for the musical “A Killer Party”, or Bradley Edington, sophomore, who did props.
Both teachers plan to continue some of these new practices in future. Bane doesn’t want to “lose what we gained during this time, and see how we can incorporate it,” and Gibbs plans to continue more exploration into areas like tap dancing for her classes in the upcoming years.
They also both stressed how important it is to remain resilient and adaptable.
Gibbs thinks one thing that she’ll take away from this year is “not taking for granted the things that we’re able to do in person.”
“We don’t know what’s coming,” Bane said, “[and] staying flexible is super important.”