Randolph 剧院 program adapts to 在线学习 with tutorials, supply kits

Theatre professor 斯蒂芬妮·厄尔 records a tutorial for students taking her class 这学期. 

Randolph 剧院 professor 斯蒂芬妮·厄尔 has spent the spring and summer watching as 剧院 communities all over the world adjusted to performing during a pandemic.

“There has been a ton of content out there, 大量的游戏读物, that have happened via Zoom,厄尔说。. “It started in the spring, but in a small way. Professional theaters have continued doing them all summer and are still going strong.”

Earl directed one herself in June, through the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton.

“That was a great opportunity for me because I had to learn a lot and learn it quickly. They contacted me and said, ‘We want to do this in two weeks,’”她说。. “I tried to get my hands on anything that I could and watch as much as I could. I learned all sorts of fantastic ways theatrical choices can be made over Zoom in terms of sound effects and special effects. There are all sorts of things you can add that will make it more theatrical.”

She’ll be bringing that experience to her 代理 and 导演 classes this fall.

“I’m trying to find very simple ways to ask my actors to manipulate things in their spaces. Saying things like, ‘Do you have a lamp? Do you mind setting that up right next to you so you’re in silhouette?’ There are different ways to set the scene without having to ask people to purchase things. With students especially, I wouldn’t want to ask them to go into stores. You want people to stay at home and be safe.”

Earl is also teaching a performance portfolio course, which focuses on effective auditioning skills and techniques, 这学期. 从春天开始, she has taken advantage of 在线学习 to show students how to self-tape an audition, a real-life skill aspiring performers need in today’s world.

Theatre professor 斯蒂芬妮·厄尔 records a tutorial for students taking her class 这学期. 

“It used to be that all of your 试镜, you did in person. You could make it there to audition, or you couldn’t,厄尔说。. “Now I’d say about half of what actors do, even in 剧院, is send in tape of themselves.

“That ended up being an incredibly useful thing in the spring, and I’ve kind of dug into that even more,她补充道。. “I’ve tried to learn more over the summer about different types of submissions, the difference between a 剧院 submission, 商业投稿, 提交电影. I’m trying to give my students lots of tutorials and have them put that into practice. For those who are going to pursue 代理 work, they’re going to be that much more ahead of the curve.”

She’ll be recording more of the tutorials she began in the spring and rolling them out to students throughout the semester.

帕特里克·厄尔, her husband and fellow 剧院 professor, also will be recording voice and breathing exercises for his students to watch before logging into class, 她说.

“There’s not enough time in class, the way things are set up, to see everybody do them,”她说。. “He’s going to give it to them in advance, and then watch them do it.”

The videos aren’t the only way the department is reaching students 这学期.

Professor 希瑟·辛克莱 recently sent supplies to students taking two of her courses: scenic design and stagecraft.

Scenic design students received model-making supplies, 包括泡沫板, 胶水, 标尺, 皮纸和描图纸, 还有金属别针.

“The idea is they will complete their projects, 他们走的时候拍照, and then ship everything back to me to be properly graded,”她说。.

Her stagecraft course usually focuses on the physical construction of a show, so she has retooled it to focus on props and costumes. She sent those students sewing kits, 纸供应, 织物, and a gel book full of the colored inserts used in stage production lighting, 在其他项目中, to work on projects throughout the semester.

They’ll send back any supplies they don’t use, which will be recirculated into the department’s stock.

She’s also set up two cameras by her drafting table, so students can watch her draw live from various angles during class.

“I’m working on not overloading them as much as I normally do with material because my classes are an hour and 15 minutes,辛克莱说. “That’s a long time to stare at a screen and not do anything else, to not be interactive physically. So I premade my PowerPoints and post them the morning of class, so they can follow along.”