Luke Jorgenson (Lee Pellegrini)
When the coronavirus pandemic hit last spring, 当时正如火如荼进行的戏剧系/罗布沙姆戏剧艺术中心的演出突然停止了. 话剧《太阳城网赌平台》(The Wolves)即将上演，音乐剧《太阳城网赌平台》(City of Angels)只排练了一次. 本学期，这些表演将在严格的安全协议和截然不同的形式下继续进行. 这些未知的展示将再次捕捉和描绘人才, energy, enthusiasm, dedication, and hard work of all involved—including students, faculty, and staff members.
Theatre Department Chair Luke Jorgensen, associate professor of the practice, 最近讨论了秋季计划，并对制作团队的创造性工作提供了见解. The preparations have not been easy, he noted, 如果没有莫里西艺术与科学学院院长格雷戈里·卡尔舍尔的全力支持，这一切都是不可能实现的, S.J.莫里西学院副院长Eugene McMahon和教务长兼院长David Quigley.
Your thoughts about the impact of the pandemic on the performing arts?
The performing arts have been hit extremely hard by COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, we closed down immediately. It was a difficult and emotional time for all of our students. 在今年接近这个目标时，我想找到一种方法来实现表演. 作为一个学术戏剧部门，我们的作品对学生来说是至关重要的实验体验. We did not want to give up on performing, 但我想确保我们所做的一切都是以最安全的方式进行的. 有一次，我们制定了一个计划，计划如何使用Zoom这样的技术来实现目标, green screens and film editing, we needed some upgrades in technology. This semester has been a true experiment. 我们都面临着挑战，要学习新的表演方法，并获得实现这些计划所需的技能. It has been the busiest semester we have ever had, as the faculty and staff have struggled to pivot into this new world. 我们的教职员工和学生都非常出色，绝对超越.
给 us a glimpse of the two productions this fall.
Our season starts off with “Sweat” [October 22-25], a 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage. “Sweat” tells the story of a group of factory workers in Reading, Pa. When layoffs begin, so do the issues of race, discrimination, and poverty that are plaguing our nation today. Faculty member Patricia Riggin is directing the hard-hitting modern drama. After that our Monan Professor in Theatre 艺术s, Paula Plum, is directing “Twelfth Night” [November 19-22] by William Shakespeare. 她是一位非常有成就的演员兼导演，并将这部莎士比亚最好的喜剧之一改编成电影. 这些演出在基调、主题和表演方式上都大不相同.
How will they be presented in keeping with pandemic protocols?
We made the early decision that all auditions this year would be virtual. 学生们提交了试镜视频，甚至通过Zoom进行了试镜. 这两个节目都使用了我们用来制作节目的正常时间框架，但它们在制作上一点也不“正常”. “Sweat” is being produced via a Zoom webinar format, 还有一个令人兴奋的转折:学生们将在八个不同的办公室进行现场表演. A few of our BC actors involved in the production are at home, states away, and have attended all rehearsals virtually. Each office will be fitted with a green screen and lights and our students, 在才华横溢的生产经理拉斯·斯威夫特和技术主管乔治·库克的帮助下, 会不会用虚拟背景操纵绿屏，让演员们看起来像是在酒吧里. We have truly been on the cutting edge of performance in this medium, experimenting with ways to use Zoom in a new way; at one point, 学生们甚至可以互换办公室，让屏幕上的出口和入口看起来更正常.
“Twelfth Night” is being presented as a film. 在电影部的帮助下，我们在一个巨大的绿幕前开始拍摄. The integration of musicians, fight choreography, 而身体上的亲密感阻碍在适当的身体距离上无疑更具挑战性. 在表演课和排练中戴着面具表演会让事情变得更加困难, certainly, but improvisation is at the core of people who work in the arts. 所以即使我们的学生还没有按照通常的方式进行排练和表演, I believe students are getting new, broader skill sets, both in technology and acting for film and screen.
“This semester has been a true experiment. 我们都面临着挑战，要学习新的表演方法，并获得实现这些计划所需的技能. It has been the busiest semester we have ever had, as the faculty and staff have struggled to pivot into this new world. 我们的教职员工和学生都非常出色，绝对超越.”
这些方法对导演、演员、工作人员和其他人有什么挑战?
COVID precautions have affected every level of production, from auditions to costuming, blocking, and who can 看到 our shows and how. Present regulations dictate that only 25 people can be part of a performance. That includes actors, technicians, stage managers, and the audience. 太阳城网赌平台的戏剧涉及如此多的学生，所以不包括任何现场观众更有意义. 我们的演员习惯于对观众的热情做出反应:他们不会在这些表演中听到喘息或笑声, and that will be a new experience for them. 学生将有自己的个人道具，不会与其他演员共享. Makeup and costumes will need to be handled without assistance from others, and our costume shop has taken serious steps to ensure safety as laundry, fittings, and costume up-keep still have to be done. 下学期，我们将继续在COVID协议下制作戏剧，并正在寻找新的选择，如户外演示.
考虑到额外的挑战，你为什么决定继续制作?
我知道许多大学已经决定今年不举行演出. I believe that the arts are most needed when times are difficult. I think we owe it to our students, who have come to BC because of our great program, 我们要尽力适应新的规章制度，但不要被它们压垮. Professional theaters are closed and artists are not making ends meet. 我们很幸运，大学可以让我们在不考虑票房收益的情况下运作, so our shows are being offered basically free. These are uncharted waters, but I hope that people choose to tune in; who knows, 也许有更多的观众无法亲临Robsham，可以看到我们学生的才华和努力. It has not been easy. 协商如何保证教职员工和学生的安全并让他们感到安全已经成为一项日常任务.
How do you think audiences will respond?
That is the question; we are all wondering. I think we all miss the community of watching and making a play together. Nothing replaces the feeling of interplay as we all sit in the same place, breathing the same air and together witnessing a theatrical creation. However, 我们希望我们以一种非常有创意的方式使用这些媒介，我认为我们的学生们所付出的能量真的会通过镜头散发出来.
“在表演课和排练中戴着面具表演会让事情变得更加困难, certainly, but improvisation is at the core of people who work in the arts. 所以即使我们的学生还没有按照通常的方式进行排练和表演, I believe students are getting new, broader skill sets, both in technology and acting for film and screen.”
These productions are new experiences for students. What will they learn?
即兴发挥、弹性、适应性、创造性解决问题和沟通能力. Our theater students want to be live and in person at BC. 他们正在遵循规则，在我们所面临的情况下尽最大努力做到最好.
Are student-directed productions continuing?
Student productions have changed but are still happening. The difficulty has been the inability to do musicals. 根据防疫规定，唱歌是有问题的，所以一些节目已经改变. 我认为我们的学生和我们的部门花了一些时间来审视形势并适应它, but student-directed shows are coming. 其中两部刚刚确定演员阵容，下学期观众可以期待更多学生导演的戏剧，包括艾莉森·拉德纳(Allison Lardner) 21届导演的《太阳城官网》(The History of Color), and “Proof” directed by Jacob Kelleher ’21.
Any parting thoughts on this unusual season?
I am proud of our season this year. We have worked hard not only to survive and flourish during the pandemic, 但也要选择能够就反种族主义和多样性展开对话的戏剧.
更多关于秋季戏剧系/Robsham戏剧艺术中心的作品, and how to view them, 看到 misawa-city.com/theatre.
Rosanne Pellegrini | University Communications | October 2020