A Noise Within Goes Virtual

ByMay S. Ruiz

Theunprecedented stay-at-home orders that were put in place mid-March followingthe coronavirus outbreak caused a closure of all businesses deemednon-essential. Venues where people usually gather, like theatres, had to shutdown practically overnight; events were cancelled and performances wererescheduled. 

For A Noise Within (ANW), however, the show goes on – virtually. Speaking with me by phone, Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott disclose that work doesn’t stop despite the lockdown.   

“We’reessentially doing everything that needs to be done from home – lots of Zoommeetings with the various departments, the executive committee, the board. It’sa different kind of busy but it’s busy,” says Rodriguez-Elliott.

Stay-at-homeorders notwithstanding, ANW recently held their first-ever virtual gala.Elliott explains, “A lot of planning went into holding a virtual gala in lieuof having our fundraising annual dinner on stage event. In the past, obviously,the money raised from the dinner on stage went to the educational department.This year it’s a little different because there are other challenges, so it wasan overall ask to our supporters that they be a part of the gala. We didn’tknow what to expect but it actually went very well – we hit our goal, which waswonderful.” 

DescribesRodriguez-Elliott, “People were able to join Facebook Live for the event.People who purchased tables for the event pre-COVID donated it back to thetheatre. That was really incredibly generous. And then pretty much all theactivities that we usually would do during the dinner on stage were all donevirtually. We had a paddle auction which lasted 48 hours, we had performancesof scenes from ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ which people were able to view throughFacebook Live and also through Vimeo. Geoff and I paid tribute to the honorees,as we usually do every year during the dinner on stage event. Everything thatwe would have done at the dinner on stage, we tried to duplicate except that itwas all virtual. It was a different experience but it was a wonderful way tostay connected. It’s not a substitute for being together in a room but it was aplayful way to do it. I think people appreciate the opportunity – I know we do– to connect even if we’re doing it in a little box.”

“You’retrying to be as normal as possible virtually,” I comment. And Elliott, whothankfully hasn’t lost his sense of humor, quips, “As normal as possible forpeople who are abnormal generally.”               

Aftertwo months in lockdown, Californians are slowly coming out of isolation. Butour world will be vastly different from life as we know it. Even whenrestrictions are lifted for theatres at last, our new normal will probablyinvolve wearing masks in public spaces and distancing in large gatherings. Sohow will theatre companies navigate this uncharted territory?    

Rodriguez-Elliott says, “Various scenarios for the fall and spring seasons are one of the many things we talk about with our staff, with each other, and with Michael, our executive director. We’re crunching numbers and looking at half capacity – for instance, having every other seat, every other row. And if that were the case, we could have longer runs. We think that’s what’s going to be the scenario for a while in our line of business. We’ll just have to see how it plays out. We’re looking to Gov. Newsom as to the different phases of reopening and we’re paying close attention to the advice of the experts. It’s a day-to-day situation which changes constantly.”

“Andwe expect that when all is said and done, there will be very specificguidelines that we’ll follow – whether they’re based on national directives orat the local level – about places where people assemble in terms of what youcan and can’t do,” Rodriguez-Elliott adds. “As Geoff said we’re trying to determinewhat that might look like for us. Traffic-wise, how do you get people in, howdo you get people to the bathrooms, etc.”

Iinquire how they’ll handle the season schedule and Rodriguez-Elliott asserts, “Theschedule that we announced is what we’ll uphold and anticipate we’ll befollowing. That said, things are shifting on a daily basis so we have to beable to adapt to that. We’re looking at multiple contingencies, various plansthat would address changes in our ability to get into the space, or in thenumber of audience members that we’ll be able to accommodate.”

“Whatmessage do you want to impart to your audience,” I ask. “We will honor ticketsand subscriptions, if and when the schedule changes,” replies Rodriguez-Elliott.“Also, people can help their local arts organizations during these verychallenging times by either contributing if they’re able to or by purchasing asubscription.”

“Iwant to add one thing that picks up on something Julia said earlier,” Elliottinterjects. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be back healthy and strong.There’s something about live theatre that can’t be duplicated. We’ve been incaves, and rooms, and around fires, for tens of thousands of years tellingstories to each other and relating the human experience. And that’s somethingthat’s always going to be with us. We personally are in a very good place – wehave a lot of support and supporters. At this moment in time we’ve been able tokeep our whole staff on without having to furlough anybody. We have a fullstaff working from home. Who knows what the future holds, but that’s where weare right now. But we’re feeling pretty confident about it.”

“We have a lot of online content,” continues Rodriguez-Elliott. “We’re hosting classes online. Our ‘Summer with Shakespeare’ (SWS) program is going virtual this year, which should be interesting. We’re doing as much as we possibly can until we can get back into the theatre.”

FromJune 15 through July 17, students attending SWS can access the dynamic andimmersive classes safely while under the tutelage of professional artistsworking at ANW.

“Connectingwith our community has always been a key component of A Noise Within,” pronouncesAlicia Green, Director of Education and Community Outreach. “With health andsafety at the forefront of our strategy, we decided to transform our schedulesand programming so we can engage with our students from their homes. The onlineprogram has been designed so that it can continue to provide unique exposure toa variety of classic plays and guide students through the intricacies of theworld of theatre.”

Asin years past, the classes will cover a wide range of topics to enrich studentsand teach them about all aspects of stagecraft and what goes into a stageperformance. Campers will learn about swords/stage combat, magic, mask work, voicework, stagecraft and design, and movement. Beyond expanding traditional theatreskills, SWS helps students with public speaking, builds their self-confidence,and connects them with pedagogically trained professionals.

“We’reoffering several options for each of our tracks,” Green says. “It’s veryflexible so that anyone can do it, and we make it work for every student. Witheverything being so unknown, we want to make sure to do what we can to providetop-tier theatre education while understanding that a full five weeks is notviable for everyone. Our program is structured so that families can choose whatworks best for their family, whether that be one week, or three, or attendingour entire five-week camp. We want to give children the chance to be creativeand collaborate with their peers while still being safe.” 

Thereare three tiers of the program broken down into age ranges. Track 1 is forstudents aged 14 through 18, Track 2 is for students aged 10 through 13, andTrack 3 is for students aged 6 through 9. Each track is curated specifically tothe age group and can even offer class credit for certain schools. The summeracting camp culminates in a final performance that will be livestreamed onYouTube to share with students’ friends and family.

“Students and families can expect the same quality they have always known with Summer with Shakespeare,” assures Green. “But now we are able to welcome families from across the country and incorporate technical elements via the magic of the digital age we didn’t have available before. Classes are both live and pre-recorded (utilizing platforms that are still engaging even when not live) and the schedule is flexible to allow students breaks from screen time and also provide ease of sharing computers and space. We have built in unstructured fun time to allow students to engage socially. While it’s not the same as being in the same room together, the social component of camp and youth is so important that we did our best to replicate it online!”

By now, parents have spent over eight weeks essentially home-schooling their children. They can take a break by sending their kids to ‘Summer with Shakespeare’ online camp (enroll here). Come fall, maybe schools will reopen and we can slowly get back to normal, whatever that looks like. We may even be able to once again see a play – A Noise Within’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ would be a great escape from our new reality.

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