As a little kid, I remember flipping through the channels and seeing these half-hour “Best of Saturday Night Live” highlight shows featuring the original cast. And what a cast – from 1975 to 1980, the original cast defined the series’ anything-goes style of sketch comedy. In that original cast, three […]
Read MoreNews and Reflections
Zoom/Theatre
Zoom/Theatre I continue to be energized by Zoom/Theatre. Perhaps a new word needs to be adopted, as I am also hearing from folks that they are awaiting the return to live theatre, and don’t want to participate in Zoom/Theatre. I understand and appreciate their concerns. The “/” symbol that I […]
Read MoreReflections on Carey by Design
The coronavirus pandemic has been a difficult time for theater artists, in Rochester and everywhere. Actors aren’t able to rehearse, directors aren’t able to prepare, producers aren’t able to promote. If you’re a playwright in the midst of the pandemic – once the feeling of staying at home settles in, […]
Read MoreCircles of Attention: HOT L BALTIMORE
As members of the theatre community, we have all participated in readings. This is something we do, for rehearsal, for play development, and sometimes even as a final product. So, I have to ask myself why am I quite so elated by the Pandemic Play Reading series, and particularly with […]
Read MoreThe Bald Soprano
One characteristic of Absurdism is that it seeks to unveil the human desire to make meaning in a meaningless world. In Eugene Ionesco’s world, we often see characters having a conversation and acting as if what they are saying is completely normal. Yet the audience experiences the conversation as nonsensical– […]
Read More
Visual Design for Zoom Performances
Using Virtual Backgrounds Many performers are interested in engaging some of the higher-tech presentations happening here and there through Zoom. This brings some interesting conversations about how we apply technology to performance when we are each working on our own. In order for a Zoom company to have themed backgrounds, […]
Read MoreFood Court & The Virtual Living Room
Hi Pandemic Play Readers, It has been extremely exciting to pull together the reading of FOOD COURT by Beverly Coyle! We originally had scheduled a reading at Seminole State College. When everything closed down, it seemed as though we would have to postpone indefinitely. When Amy Taipale Canfield began the […]
Read More
A new kind of performance.
This is really fun. It’s like watching a TV show on your computer, or listening to a podcast, but you are interacting directly with the presenters. It’s a great hybrid of passive entertainment with social interaction. You get the same goodwill and chatter at preshow and intermission that you do at any other show. And pants are totally optional.
Read More