Distance learning has sent many plans for sports and performing arts programs out the window, but that doesn’t stop the Kamiak Drama Department from putting on a show, even if it must be virtual. The film-like performance of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play, based on the 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life, was streamed on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of December 2020 after only a month of rehearsals. The holiday classic follows the story of George Bailey, who considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve.

Like the performance, auditions were conducted virtually. Students submitted video recordings of themselves performing monologues from the play. From there, students were brought into Zoom meetings for auditions with other actors, and the cast was selected afterwards. Director and theater arts teacher, Brian Sullivan, and cast members share their experiences with this show.

Radio plays are meant to be listened to rather than watched. Sullivan stated, “If [the cast] were to do this play in person, the audience would be in the theatre watching the vocal performers play these characters, seeing them change voices and create live sound effects. Without the ability to gather, [I] decided to use Zoom to film the actors as they deliver their vocal performances.”

With filming Kamiak’s first virtual play, new obstacles reared their ugly heads. Three rehearsals a week earned the team their fair share of technical issues and “off” feelings about the production. Sullivan explains how students thrive off of being surrounded by their fellow cast-mates, “feeding off of each other’s energy and building strong relationships.” It is near impossible to recreate the same family dynamic through a computer screen.

Cast member Ashley Duong (senior), who played both Mrs. Hatch and Rose, reveals the awkwardness of interacting with other performers through Zoom. Ad-libbing is an improvised part of performance during which actors mimic conversations amongst themselves in the background. In an interview, Duong demonstrates turning to face away from the camera and mouthing a gibberish conversation, explaining how usually she would ad-lib with other performers in person but through a camera there’s no one to converse with but herself.

Another cast member, Spencer Gonzales (senior), who played both Clarence and Freddie Filmore, adds to this, stating that there was difficulty connecting with other scene partners. However, he reassures that after a couple weeks, it became less of a problem.

The virtual landscape also comes as a blessing in disguise. Virtual plays are a lot less time consuming than in-person plays, Duong explains, especially for performers like herself who spend long hours after school rehearsing. Performing in the comfort of your own home also provides opportunities to those who may not have time to rehearse in-person and prepare for a live show. However, this also means rehearsing with distractions: pets, parents, or a noisy car outside are all factors that can ruin a take.

Because the performance is primarily audible, many performers were able to play multiple characters by changing their voices. However, acting with only their voice was perhaps one of the biggest changes for the cast. Gonzales explains how he altered his performance to accommodate to the new landscape; instead of starting with physical aspects of the character, such as walking or big movements, “[he] had to put [his] focus more on [his] facial movements and vocal patterns to give [his] characters more depth in the show.”

Duong adds: “A big thing that helped us was… we really got into character, so we had to do our hair and makeup still, and costumes still even though we weren't performing on stage… I feel like it brought everyone really into character and that was something that really helped us get into the mood [of performing].”

Both performers expressed a longing to perform live on-stage again. Through a melancholic tone, Duong explains how she loves seeing the audience's reaction to the live performance and hanging around cast members in-person. Gonzales says: “I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss performing live. The feeling of putting on a show for a packed theatre is unmatched. Just getting to act [again] after all these months was magic enough for me.”

In normal circumstances, the spring musical would’ve already been selected and auditions already completed. However, the uncertainty of our future in the current state of the world regarding the pandemic has forced the drama department to push final decisions until as late as possible, Sullivan explains.

Despite all the new challenges and obstacles this year for the drama department, The Gauntlet congratulates them on a successful winter play, and we look forward to future productions.