COVID-19, new guidelines this year are affecting the way theater is conducted. These further adjustments come with many new challenges, for example, finding plays that can be recorded without the worry of copyright infringements and having rehearsals online. However, the theater is working to overcome these obstacles. Theater has already put on the 24 Hour Play Festival, which was held back on Oct. 3.

Theater coordinator, Griff Sadow, explained how the festival works: students rehearse all day while creating customs and setting up behind the scene. Once the 24 hours are up, they record the plays and show them to an audience. 

Some theater rehearsals have been over Zoom. Having rehearsals through a screen may cause many problems, for example, stress and anxiety. However, being online gives students a better way of learning different skills, such as facial expressions. 

“From a theoretical standpoint, it helps us with our facial expressions,” senior Deklan Boren said. “It’s a trade-off; we’re not in our bodies as much, so it’s harder to do like physical blocking.”

Senior Olivia Henson agrees with Boren; however, Henson has some of her own struggles with online rehearsals. “Online rehearsals give me anxiety,” Henson said. “It is a challenge to rehearse our movement (blocking), but the intimacy is achieved over Zoom because our faces are right there on the screen and not covered by masks,” Henson explained.

One significant change to theatre this year is actors have to stay six feet apart or more for the entire performance. There are never more than 14 actors on stage at a time. 

“It’s weird when you give someone an engagement ring, or someone pours a cup of coffee for you,” Sadow said.

Boren further explained how social distancing affects performances. Intimate scenes will have to be left to the “imagination of the audience” because, with social distancing, there can not be kissing scenes.

This year, due to COVID-19, every student’s theater experience has been different. Some students have dropped out because it is not the same as it used to be or because it has caused stress and anxiety. While others plan to stick with it for as long as possible, because it is their passion despite the new changes. 

“It’s still, you know, my passion,” Boren added. “I still love doing it; it’s just different, I guess.” 

All of the new guidelines for putting on a play during a pandemic proved a challenge among the theater community. For instance, they have to put plays out online rather than perform them live. 

“I’m a theater director, not a movie director. More and more feels like theater is becoming more video and movie-based,” Sadow explained. 

Theater teaches students many things; in particular, it teaches students how to be ready for changes. Things happen all the time in theater. Understudies have to be ready in a second without much notice or scenes getting taken out or rewritten at the last minute. With COVID-19, theater students need to be prepared with little notice.

“You always have to be ready to change,” sophomore Charlie Corbett said. “You got to spin on a dial, and it’s a good skill to learn. When things are like, oh, we’re on zoom now, or we can go in person, that’s cool.”

Despite all the new changes and challenges for theater this year, the cast still finds safe ways to come together with each other to work as a team.

“When you’re in a cast or just in theater in general, you’re kind of a family, so you just get together anyway,” Corbett said.