Taking audiences behind the scenes to see how America's frontline workers responded to the worst public health crisis of the century

Originating as a Carthage Theatre class project, and dedicated to the healthcare professionals who risked everything to keep America safe, FRONTLINE has been performed as a 2-hour Zoom play as well as a 90-minute live version. Read on to find out more!

Project Origins

Since 2015, Carthage students and faculty have been creating Verbatim Theatre works to give a voice to the unheard stories in our community. After producing multiple plays and other events based on verbatim techniques, Carthage inaugurated its first class dedicated to verbatim theatre in January of 2022. The class project was to interview healthcare workers from around the nation about their experiences during the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then craft a script from their testimony.

The Class

Seven students from multiple disciplines joined Professor Martin McClendon and consultant Dr. Becki Hornung for the class. Among those students were several nursing majors as well as theatre, art, and psychology majors. Their theatre experience ran the gamut from seasoned upperclass theatre performers to complete theatre novices.

The Process

After gaining knowledge about the history and techniques of verbatim theatre, the class dived right into interviews. Six participants spoke to us anonymously via video conference. Approximately nine hours of interviews were gathered and transcribed by the class. Then the process of editing began. Students identified the most impactful stories and collected them into a rough draft. From there, several weeks were spent reading and editing to bring the script down to about two hours.

Zoom Play

At the end of the January term, the class was ready to showcase their hard work by creating a "Zoom play" version of their script. Roles were assigned to all class members, regardless of their major, and an extra cast member, Hope Posley, was added from outside the course. The play was then edited and sound effects added by Nicky Caldwell.

Student Participants/Writers/Actors:

Nicky Caldwell

Jacqueline Chiakas

Andrea Fuentes

Theresa Kalb

Massimo Manfredini

Valerie Nicolussi

Melissa Schmidt

Additional Cast:

Hope Posley

Grant Collaboration Leads to Fall Production

In February 2022, soon after the FRONTLINE project ended, Katharine Keenan from the Carthage Development Office contacted Professor McClendon with a unique opportunity. The interaction between Nursing and Theatre exemplified by FRONTLINE had caught the attention of Carthage Nursing Director Nancy Reese. Professor Reese was creating an Interprofessional Health Education Program, whose goal was to

"establish Interprofessional Education (IPE) as a core feature of the nursing curriculum at Carthage College by creating opportunities for cross-listed courses between relevant majors on campus and extracurricular opportunities for students across related majors to learn from experts, build relationships and professional resiliency, and collaborate on health and outreach projects that support our broader community." --Prof. Nancy Reese

To support the IPE program, Ms. Keenan and Prof. Reese were working on a grant proposal for the The Franklin I. and Irene List Saemann Foundation, which supports culture, education, and health care. Would Carthage Theatre would be interested in contributing a live theatrical version of FRONTLINE as a way to demonstrate IPE outcomes? The Theatre Department agreed, and Carthage learned they had been awarded a Saemann Foundation grant in June of 2022.

FRONTLINE: Live Theatrical Version

With the generous support of the Saemann Foundation Grant, the Carthage Theatre Department produced a live theatrical version of FRONTLINE Oct 12-14, 2022 in the Carthage Studio Theatre. Co-directed by Professor McClendon and Carthage Theatre alumnus Brea Beelow, the production featured a newly revised 90-minute script and a cast and crew of Carthage alumni and students.

The FRONTLINE LIVE Team

Written by the Carthage Verbatim Theatre Class, January 2022: Nicky Caldwell, Jacqueline Chiakas, Andrea Fuentes, Theresa Kalb, Martin McClendon,Valerie Nicolussi, and Melissa Schmidt with assistance from Dr. Becki Hornung (with additional editing by the current cast and directors)

This project was made possible thanks to the six healthcare workers who agreed to share their stories. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their willingness to speak to us, and the nation owes them much more. We dedicate this play to them.

Cast

ONE Rae Elizabeth Pare ‘15

TWO Adrianna Jones ‘22

THREE Zoe Gatz ‘22

FOUR Leah Gawel ‘19/’21

FIVE Darien Hiller ‘20

SIX Caitlin DiGiacomo ‘10

Production Team

Directed by Bree Beelow ‘13 and Martin McClendon

Stage Manager: Kurt Meinhardt

Costume Designer: Geovanni Virella-Torres ‘22

Lighting/Technical Direction: Zackary Simonini ‘12

Original Music Composition: Kaila Bingen ‘15/’20

This production of FRONTLINE was made possible by the generous support of the Franklin I. and Irene List Saemann Foundation, which has enabled Carthage to launch Interprofessional Education opportunities for Carthage nursing and allied health students, in addition to building bridges across all disciplines at Carthage.

Special thanks to Katharine Keenan in the Office of Advancement and Nancy Reese, Director of Nursing, for creating this opportunity.

Special thanks to Herschel Kruger, William Newcomb, Kim Instenes and all the Carthage Theatre Department faculty and students for supporting the production.

FRONTLINE Final Production Script

For inquiries, contact Professor Martin McClendon, Carthage College.