To love, honor and co-star: make room for two on Zoom

by



[ad_1]

Last fall, actor Jason O’Connell agreed to star in a new production of Lanford Wilson’s melancholy melancholy Talley’s Folly for Syracuse Stage. The other hand? His wife, Kate Hamill. As they filmed the play in an empty auditorium, they spent much of their rehearsal time at home, on Zoom. So much for having left your role at the door of the stage.

“There’s no escape,” O’Connell said, mostly joking. “There is no time apart, there is no respite. There is no one to complain about my co-star.

Since March, when the theater first started appearing online, savvy producers have searched for workarounds of the Zoom box and ways to generate the privacy that only actors sharing the same airspace can provide. A user-friendly solution for Covid-19: Hire cohabiting couples to perform opposite each other – on sofas, in bedrooms, and on the occasional closed stage – without grids or time lag.

This explains how viewers saw two Apple family siblings – Barbara by Maryann Plunkett and Richard by Jay O. Sanders – quarantine together in Richard Nelson’s latest trilogy, with their West Village apartment replacing Barbara in Rhinebeck. The cohabitation of actors also allowed a surprising scene in “Russian Troll Farm” by Sarah Gancher. After playing the room on separate screens, disinformation officers Greg Keller and Danielle Slavick suddenly jumped into the same box and then went to bed.

Some of these couples have acted together for decades; others hardly ever shared a marquee. None of them could have predicted that they would turn their homes into theaters and reassure the neighbors that bloody screams are just a job.

The New York Times spoke to six theater couples about how to act together while living together. These are excerpts from the conversations.

HAMILL We know a lot of people who have a professional / personal divide, but that really isn’t the case.

How did working from home go?

HAMILL We are both workaholics. We had to adapt to a slightly different pace of life. Like, “Do we have any hobbies?” After we finished with our first Zoom rehearsal of “Talley’s Folly,” we turned the camera off and we both started crying because we had missed that part of our lives.

O’CONNELL It was very, very special, but also bittersweet.

HAMILL In the pandemic, as a couple, you either get out of it or “Wow, this is really strong and awesome” or “Oh no. I’m glad we love each other. “

How they met At the National Theater Conservatory in Denver, Colorado. “We had a discussion in the library once about death,” Keller said.

Pandemic project “Russian farm of trolls”

Did you work together a lot?

SLAVICK We did a bunch of workshops and readings and stuff, but only one other production together, “That Pretty Pretty by Sheila Callaghan; or, The Rape Play. “

KELLER No one wanted to stage the passion that is our relationship.

How did working from home go?

SLAVICK Exciting. But also intimidating. I was still breastfeeding during rehearsals and I was also pregnant, so I was very nauseous. Getting people involved in your family life was just plain vulnerable. But you are my favorite actor. So I just liked the opportunity to speak with you and listen to you in this medium.

KELLER I’m blushing here.

SLAVICK There was so much equipment! He took over our apartment.

KELLER A new couple with a child has moved in. They could hear us yelling at each other, she had fake orgasms.

SLAVICK I actually stopped them in the hallway and let them know that they didn’t need to call the police.

How they met In graduate studies at the University of Illinois. “I will never forget seeing her for the first time,” Dirden said. “This gale force is coming right at me.

Pandemic projects “New Math”, as part of the 24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues; “Survival lessons”

Did you work together a lot?

DICKINSON The first show we did was “Angels in America”. Brandon was Belize and I was the angel.

DIRDEN We work together maybe every two years. It really helps the relationship. We can’t be too mean to each other, because we’re probably going to have to work together very soon.

How did working from home go?

DICKINSON The 24 Hour Plays have contacted us. I said to Brandon, “We are doing it. You’re going to make one and I’m going to make one. Because we have to make art. So we did it and I said, “It was great. Brandon and I should make this together. “Two weeks later, they were like,” We want to talk to you about this. ” And I was like, “How are we doing home school?” We said to our playwright, “You have to incorporate our child.” Which turned out to be fun. Although we almost killed each other for about five seconds.

DIRDEN Hunt [their son] was the best part of the process. He took the lead very well.

How they met Friends installed them. “We had planned to see ‘Doubt’,” Uriah said. “Very romantic.”

Pandemic projects “Nora Highland”, “Buyer and Cellar”, “Frankie and Will”

Did you work together a lot?

URIE More recently, “Hamlet”, which we did in Washington, DC We also worked together on some film projects. Ryan and Halley Feiffer wrote “He’s way more famous than you”, which I realized.

SPAHN It was then that we learned to collaborate. We transformed our apartment into a production office.

How did working from home go?

SPAHN Jeremy Wein does Play-PerView. He held out his hand. I had never even heard of Zoom. I had this two-hander, “Nora Highland.” Michael and Tessa Thompson did it live online.

URIE There was no audience, but it looked like theater, because it was live.

SPAHN We would talk about chasing that nervousness from opening night.

URIE “Buyer and Cellar,” which we did in our living room, had just that. It was a big old comedy set right in front of you. Ryan was the director of photography.

SPAHN After that, we did a short play that Talene Monahon wrote, “Frankie and Will”. Our dog was in it. And we have a cat, so we had to argue with animals. It gave us something to put our manic, terrified, laser-focused energy into.

How they met During a production of “Shear Madness” in Fort Myers, Florida. “We had a first date in New York City,” Byrne said.

Pandemic project “Singles in agriculture”

Did you work together a lot?

BYRNE We never work together. I am in musical theater and Tim enjoys theater, film and television. Our paths to auditions rarely cross.

How did working from home go?

BYRNE Ken Kaissar and Amy Kaissar, artistic directors of the Bristol Riverside Theater, were looking for acting couples in quarantine. They contacted us by email and Ken found “Singles in Agriculture”. We did a Zoom cold read and it was our pace, it was our energy. It was right.

GOODWIN Usually you can quit work at work. But the space in which we sleep is also our rehearsal space and our performance space. We have beautiful lighting set up. But as soon as the rehearsal is over, we demolish everything.

BYRNE We literally open the blinds, we open the windows and we close the door so that it gets very cold in the room. Almost like starting over.

How they met On the set of “A Man Called Hawk”, a spin-off of “Spenser: For Hire”. “Our first kiss was on film,” Sanders said.

Pandemic project The Apple Family Plays Pandemic Trilogy

Did you work together a lot?

SANDERS Countless readings and workshops. And a few small films.

PLUNKETT Because of the Rhinebeck panorama [Richard Nelson’s sequence of Rhinebeck-set plays], we have the impression of working together all the time. We like to work together.

How did working from home go?

PLUNKETT With the Zoom playing, we are seated side by side. It’s the height of confidence and play, knowing that I’m looking into Jay’s eyes, but I’m also looking into the character’s eyes. Shoulder to shoulder, captured in a tiny little box, there’s no room to fake it.

SANDERS I dreamed of it when I was a young actor, to find someone who could be a partner, who could be at the same level. It’s a very rare relationship that we are lucky to have. We appreciate it every day.

[ad_2]

Source link