The realities of teaching technical theatre on Zoom

In an age of virtual learning, theatre educators have been met with new challenges of how to create theatre and engage their students in a new platform.  I met via Zoom with Appleton North High School Theatre tech director, Pete Abraham, to talk about overcoming the challenges of Zoom theatre and how this new medium of theatre has simultaneously created new learning opportunities. 

Appleton North Theatre students have been hard at work on a piece of One-Act theatre, so much of our conversation revolved around the technical experience with that particular show. 

Abraham discussed how being in tech crew during a pandemic looks incredibly different than being in tech crew for a traditional show.  Students who would usually set up lighting equipment in the theatre are now typing up instructions and having online tutorial sessions for actors on how to utilize the light they already have in their homes. 

Some props require duplicates to be made, so one character can look like they are giving a letter (or another prop) to another character.  In reality, the character giving the letter is setting the letter down on a table above their camera, and the character receiving the letter is taking the duplicate letter from a table above their camera.   This creates the illusion that the letter was being passed between the two of them. 

When we spoke about set design in Zoom theatre, Abraham talked about how the students acquire virtual backgrounds.  Tech students research the historic time period where the play takes place, and use that knowledge to find the right image background to best portray the setting they are trying to achieve.  Each student is able to do their own individual research and find their own images, then share the images electronically with each other to collaborate on the best image to use for each particular scene. 

WiFi connectivity and similar limitations online can be an ongoing issue when working on virtual theatre.  Abraham taught students about speed testing on their computer, which measures the amount of time it takes for a server to respond to what the user is telling the computer to do.  If you want to utilize virtual backgrounds with a green screen, the numbers on your speed test need to remain within certain levels.  Your ping number should be around 10, and your download and upload speeds should be close to 100. 

Despite the fact that theatre is being done primarily over Zoom, Abraham is still able to offer building opportunities to students.  In order for virtual backgrounds to be used to their fullest potential, all actors need green screens in their homes.  The green screens themselves are made from green fabric, but students are able to work outside in small groups under adult supervision to build frames for their green screens. 

As some students have greater internet connectivity and more updated equipment than others, Abraham delivered ethernet cables to student houses.  Depending on where the students’ designated Zoom space was and where their router was, sometimes they had to get creative.  Abraham mentioned that one student had to drill a hole in their floor to be able to make the connection.  

Within Zoom itself, students can learn the ins and outs of the program to learn how to make adjustments to their sound levels, and how to time clicking the “start video” button so their character can enter the scene and have their video frame be in the right location in relation to the video frames of the other characters.

Of course, there is a sense of discouragement among some tech students who would have rather participated in traditional tech theatre as opposed to virtual tech theatre.  Abraham makes virtual theatre fun for students by creating engaging virtual tech theatre quizzes on how to navigate Zoom, and students are often encouraged by Abraham to find new features on Zoom for “extra brownie points”.

Nearing the end of our conversation, Abraham noted the gratitude he has received from parents of students, and how thankful they are that their kids are still given the opportunity to do what they are passionate about given all the odds stacked against the world right now.  He was very passionate about his belief that everyone in theatre should give virtual theatre a try. 

While it’s certainly a new medium that possesses a unique set of challenges to overcome, these are learning opportunities that give students a greater perspective of their art, and as a result, the students are learning how to succeed and further their craft to its greatest potential. 

Have you been a part of Zoom theatre and want to share your experience and tips and tricks?  Leave a comment!