How does a Theatre adapt during covid times?
Last week we heard some crushing news for our theatre, that all our shows would be cancelled until April. So far we have been able to do most of the season as planned, but our biggest premiere should've taken place at the end of March. Nevertheless, we are going on with rehearsals and staging as planned and hope to film the show on the date of the premiere.
My final performance before we closed our doors to the public was "Tilda ja Tolmuingel" which is a children's ballet adapted from a book by Andrus Kivirähk. This particular show felt even more sentimental as the tickets were all gifted to orphans. The story follows a nine year old girl who has lost her father, and with her imaginary friend, they are able to remind people of who they once were through the return of lost memories, whether they be silly, sad, sentimental or funny. I speak on behalf of the dancers that the show felt more meaningful to us all, especially in the times we are living in. Our director; Mare Tommingas, is nominated for an award for her choreographic and directorial work in the heartfelt piece under the category children's theatre.
The cancelled premiere which we have been working on since the summer, and therefore seems like even more of a disappointment that it can't go ahead this month, is a triple bill. One of the pieces is choreographed by Jevgeni Grib, a principal in Estonian National Ballet. Two weeks ago he was not able to make his first stage rehearsal, and we were told that we would go ahead with the rehearsal via Skype. I believe everyone wondered how could it ever work getting a whole stage into shot and being able to direct a ballet company and technical crew, all who had yet no idea what to do on the stage. As we entered the stage, Grib's face was on a big TV screen above the orchestra pit, with his voice on our main speaker system; it seemed a bit like Big Brother, but perhaps made less intense by overhearing his two young children in the background which made us all smile with amusement. To our surprise, everything worked very well. Only once did we lose sound for a few seconds, but connection and quality were perfect. We were able to go ahead with the rehearsal as normal and apart from the front corners of the stage being cut off he could see all he needed. We also encountered one lift where a dancer must be lifted off the set, in which he was not exactly able to show what he wanted if he had actually been there to simply try it himself, but we got there eventually. Grib stated that it felt like he was actually there with us, and thanks to the tech team of Vanemuine we were able to adapt to the situation at hand in the best way we could. I think we forget that on stage the audience have a very particular view from only one side, almost similar to 2D, and that by placing a camera at the front we can create the show from an audience's perspective, as opposed to being in a studio with mirrors and a view that is very up-close.
The piece is called "Metamorfoosid" and is inspired by the ancient Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso's poem Metamorphoses. The two other pieces on the same evening are by Jack Traylen and Matthew Jordan. The three pieces all bring something very different to the table and I can tell you it will be a really exciting evening, whenever we eventually get given the pleasure of performing it to you.
Photo: LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images
Taken from the magical plant performance in Barcelona, last year in June.
Hi Emily, I really enjoyed reading this post! The children's ballet sounds like such a beautiful story and it was heartwarming to hear the tickets had been gifted to orphans. Theatre is such an amazing way to bring joy but also comfort to people of all ages and backgrounds and I hope there can be more performances with such beautiful intentions when theatres reopen. Being a part of that must have felt so rewarding.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked reading about your experience with the Skype rehearsal. This is a few levels above simply taking class on Skype and I wouldn't have thought Grib could have felt 'with you' so much or been able to direct a whole cast over a screen so well - this is amazing. I imagine there are a few things that are difficult - like you said it would have been easier if he was there to work out the lift - but it makes you wonder if this will prompt things in the future where choreographers/directors could even be in another country but are able to collaborate and contribute to a performance. It would be amazing if such a performance was complied of work from choreographers around the world, each with their own 'chapter' in the story!
Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Hi Emily, so sorry to hear about the shows but great that you're still in there rehearsing! It's great to hear that Skype worked so well for Grib - high speed connection has never been so important as now! It made me think back to a low-budget musical I was a part of in pre-covid times. I was on another tour in France at the time and travelled back to Ireland for rehearsals whenever I could. However, I remember one weekend when I was located in a very remote part of France, I explained to the director that I couldn't make it back this time and asked if it was possible to watch rehearsal via Skype or Facetime. The reaction wasn't a good one and I ended up having to ask some of my lovely cast mates to fill me in as best they could. The reason I thought of this was, I wonder if that would have been different had it happened during or after this pandemic when using technology in this way is more normalised. I think it was seen as unprofessional by the director or maybe just too complicated. I wonder if theatre and dance companies will be more open to Zoom rehearsals if performers are stuck, now that it's become more normalised in this pandemic?
ReplyDelete