Mira Costa Drama/Tech Innovates With Virtual Productions
Oct 23, 2020 09:13AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
With students, teachers, and staff stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem nearly impossible to put on a school theatrical production. And yet this fall, Mira Costa High School's Drama/Tech Department has produced not just one but two new ambitious plays, despite the lack of in-person auditions, rehearsals, costuming, or staging.
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, written by Don Zolidis and directed by Maddie Hutchinson, is a comical merging of dozens of different Brothers Grimm fairy tales that revisits and revises some of the most memorable moments of our favorite childhood stories.
Tickets are now on sale through Broadway On Demand for The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon and through ShowTix4U for Spoon River. Tickets are priced at $11/per screen. Visit www.miracostadramaboosters.org for ticket links.
The two productions - "Spoon River” and "The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” - will be presented in a virtual format and will be available for viewing on select dates between November 6 and 14.
And although the cast and crew won't have a traditional theater to work within, they see it as a opportunity to explore new ways of being creative.
"We’re out of our element in many different ways, but we’re perfectly in our element too," said Jonathan Westerberg, the drama director for Mira Costa Drama/Tech. "I haven’t gone through a production process like this before. But [although] our theater space is different, we’re doing the exact same work; it's just packaged differently."
He added, "It’s a challenge, but we enjoy these creative challenges - they stretch our imagination and we learn a lot."
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, written by Don Zolidis and directed by Maddie Hutchinson, is a comical merging of dozens of different Brothers Grimm fairy tales that revisits and revises some of the most memorable moments of our favorite childhood stories.
Over the summer, Zolidis adapted his original script for a virtual format so that the
slap-stick hijinks, the high-octane pace, and the fairy-tale magic feel
right at home on screen. It is almost a play-within-a-play as characters struggle to overcome
technology that goes awry and plot lines that are altered right before
their eyes.
Westerberg said that Zoldis' goal was to meet the needs of many theater companies - especially youth theater groups - who were in the same situation as Mira Costa.
"People were really in need of content and he rose to the challenge," said Westerberg. "When people watch the show, they’ll feel like it was made for the medium."
The choice of The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon also has a sentimental meaning, said Westerberg. The cancellation of last spring's production of Into the Woods was a crushing disappointment for students and staff who had spent months working on the production. Both The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon and Into the Woods are based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tales, so it's "a little tip of the hat to last year’s spring cast," said Westerberg.
Spoon River
Spoon River is an original adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon
River Anthology” that presents a
haunting post-mortem reflection on life, love, and death—all spoken
from deceased townspeople of the fictional, 19th century
hamlet of Spoon River, Illinois.
The 50-minute production, directed by Westerberg, is a rich tapestry that weaves together live and filmed
storytelling, student vocal and musical production, and original
choreography.
Westerberg said that this adaptation grew out of an initial thought of, "How can we embrace some of the
things that using a
screen and using video conferencing software might actually afford us,
that you can’t use on stage?"
In fact, creating Spoon River became a complex technical undertaking, as the production team (vocal director Megan Cornelius, music adapter and arranger Tim Labor, choreographer Christopher Albrecht) had to master Open Broadcast Software, iMovie, and more.
For example, the vocals for the musical numbers had to be recorded separately by students and then merged. "Our sound designer Tim [Labor] has basically received 14 audio files for each of the songs, and had to use programming software to create something that sounds like a 'normal' recording," said Westerberg.
The full effect of the production - from the songs, to the choreography, to the spoken word monologues - add up to what amounts to a truly new kind of theater presentation.
"We’re all just sort of on this journey together, figuring out how to do this while we’re doing it," added Westerberg.
Tickets on Sale Now
Tickets are now on sale through Broadway On Demand for The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon and through ShowTix4U for Spoon River. Tickets are priced at $11/per screen. Visit www.miracostadramaboosters.org for ticket links.
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon show dates: Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m., Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m., and Nov. 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Spoon River show dates: Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m., Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m., and Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m.
