Fall Shows Successful and Inspirational
“After a few minutes you almost forgot you were watching a play virtually!”
Kevin Eric Davis, Director of The Diary of Anne Frank
This fall CAST set out to do what it had never done before—present all its fall productions online. We weren’t even sure how much interest there would be to rehearse and perform online. Then over 100 students signed up to participate as performers or crew members!
The 2020-21 CAST season is called "The Resilient Season." All the shows pay tribute to the challenges young people in the past have endured and persisted through. Our 3 fall productions were The Diary of Anne Frank, Aftershock and Votes for Women.
The first challenge for the CAST directors was figuring out how to rehearse virtually. Bill McGlynn, CAST Program Director and writer/director of Votes for Women, described the process:
“On Zoom, we rehearsed the scenes to familiarity. We even added some virtual blocking, like deciding when to turn on and off screens, how to create the illusion of holding banners and how to mimic fatigue vs. enthusiasm.”
Kevin Eric Davis, CAST Artistic Associate and director of The Diary of Anne Frank, had great things to say about the CAST kids.
“I LOVED directing Anne Frank! The kids were amazing, and I was astounded that we were able to create characters and relationships between actors on Zoom!”
Once the shows were rehearsed, CAST recorded some Zoom meetings and tried to get a couple of versions of each scene. Sometimes this simply meant a recording without a cat appearance or an internet glitch! Then it was on to video editing. Each scene was put together using the best takes of audio and video. The audio was enhanced by adding sound effects, like a passing streetcar or a galloping horse. Finally, the scenes were stitched together using additional historical footage to help “set the stage.”
When the shows aired, CAST students experienced something new: sitting with their family while watching their performance. Families also told us that airing the shows allowed family members across the country to see these young actors perform!
The Merrill family wrote to us after watching Aftershock:
“We are so proud of the cast, crew, director and production staff of Aftershock! Under what are certainly challenging circumstances, you all approached it with enthusiasm, professionalism and creativity. It was a pleasure to see these young people dedicated to their craft despite the obstacles of technology and not being able to play off each other and the audience in person.”
As Bill McGlynn says, “I couldn’t be more proud of how well these young people told these stories in spite of the formidable challenges of their own present-day!”
Congratulations to all the casts, crews and directors on pulling off 3 great online shows!