Zoom Theatre Production Highlights UWM Students’ Creative Adaptability

Among most areas of performing arts this year, live theatre has been forced to adapt to the limitations of the pandemic. But for cast members of a recent theatre performance at UW-Milwaukee, creativity is their strong suit.

The New Dramaworks program, a fledgling of the UWM Theatre department, put on an all-virtual production of The Day the Music Came Back last Sunday night. The workshop show intended for local playwright Alvaro Saar Rios to see his creation in action was hit with multiple setbacks, from postponement to positive COVID-19 cases. Rather than opting for a cancelation or a live reading, however, director Katie Avila Loughmiller took on the task of reimagining the feeling of live theatre using Zoom.

“This was the first time doing a virtual production for all of us, so it was a really collaborative effort to problem solve,” said Loughmiller. “It was crazy and stressful and a lot of extra work on all of our parts, but they all showed up and were ready for every and any curveball that was thrown their way.”

First-year theatre student Jacqueline Siedenberg-Sis expressed that the show’s unique set-up was what drew her in to audition.

“I knew that it was gonna have to be different, but that’s what I was most excited about,” said Siedenburg-Sis, who plays the character “Disco.” “We had the opportunity to make something new and interesting, even though it was gonna be hard.”

The challenges of running a piece of live theatre on Zoom soon became apparent to the eight-member cast through the virtual rehearsal process. Among technical issues like poor connectivity and audio variability, there were other setbacks to creating a show that had the same sense of cohesion that would be present on stage. To combat the limits of the virtual sphere, the actors bought the same background lighting and “passed” props to each other to make it look like they were in the same space. They also played with positioning and blocking to show the illusion that characters were close together, talking and looking at one another rather than to the camera.

“With Zoom cutting in and out sometimes it was hard to know what was going on,” said Siedenberg-Sis. “It was challenging but at the same time kind of humorous, because we know the situation.”

“It definitely took some getting used to,” said freshman Maegan Mansfield, who plays “AM/FM.” “We had to fiddle with the settings on Zoom a lot, but luckily we know what to do if they were to happen in our live performances.”

The show itself included various instances where characters’ dialogue was meant to be said at the same time, for which Zoom’s unpredictable lagging was the dominant challenge. The actors found a way to work around this issue by recording the simultaneous audio on their own phones for Loughmiller, who adopted the role of sound director, to cue during the live performance.

“It would be easy if we were in the same room because we would just have to listen to each other and make sure everything lines up,” said sophomore Mason Shefchik, who plays “Bass.” “It just took a lot of work and we just have to hope that everything goes well.”

Despite the show’s change to online, the students saw it as just another learning experience for them to become more acquainted with the demands of flexibility in the profession, including conveying a character’s emotions and physicality through an on-screen box. The actors agreed that although Zoom limited some capabilities they were used to, they received valuable insight into how to use their space to their benefit and develop acting skills suited for the camera.

“The most important thing I’ve learned from being in this production is that you get what you put in, and to treat it the same as any other production,” said Shefchik. “The character work, professionalism and table work you need is always there, no matter if the production if virtual or live.”

In Mansfield’s experience, a vital part of being in a traditional stage production is interacting with cast members and getting to know them in order to feel comfortable bouncing off of their energy in scenes. Though the cast had only met three times in person, she has found that bonding over Zoom throughout the semester has cultivated a similar sense of camaraderie.

“Not being able to meet in person was very odd and a learning curve for me at the beginning,” said Mansfield. “But we made it work, and we work with each other through the screen somehow. It’s really cool because you wouldn’t expect that all from just talking to a computer.”

For non-theatre major Lily Levrault, theatre serves as an external outlet for socialization and creative expression. Even though the in-person component of the show was forced to shut down, Levrault says being a part of it was a valuable and enjoyable experience.

“Getting to interact with new people and getting to know them was different over Zoom rather than meeting them multiple times a week and spending hours together was a different feel,” said Levrault, “but I’m glad I got to meet these people who I might not have otherwise.

A recorded version of Sunday’s Zoom performance will be available in March. With ‘movie magic’ and dynamic editing, Loughmiller is certain the end product will be a perfect culmination of the cast’s hard work.