‘The Show Must Go Online’ for ACT

Published 3:00 pm Sunday, May 3, 2020

Though it won’t be performed in front of a live audience, nearly four dozen local students are putting on a virtual show for the masses.

ACT2, the Artistic Civic Theatre’s youth arm, will premiere “The Show Must Go Online” on Monday at 7 p.m. Beat by Beat Press, a publisher of original children’s musicals and theater resources for young actors, is offering “The Show Must Go Online” as an opportunity for youth to collaborate and perform at a time when so many other productions have been canceled or postponed due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Aaron Coker, an eighth-grader at North Whitfield Middle School, lost his school’s spring production to the pandemic, so he appreciates this opportunity.

“I was sad, because that would have been a fun experience, but this makes me feel better,” Coker said. “It’s not as good as it would have been, but this is a very good replacement,” and “The Show Must Go Online” affords room for “creativity.”

With a book by Jessica Penzias, lyrics by David Hudson and music by Denver Casado, “The Show Must Go Online” is written specifically for this circumstance, as actors are asked to produce short videos of themselves. Those clips eventually form a coherent musical.

Coker’s character uses figures to portray an action scene, so Coker used his own action figures for his video clip, and “I had many at my disposal” from his younger years, he said with a laugh. He utilized “some of the more colorful ones for heroes and the darker ones for villains.”

He also employed a green screen for added effect, incorporating it in post-production.

“I looked it up online,” he said. “I would say (the final product) looks pretty good.”

Olivia Akers plays a drama teacher who connects all the actors and videos together, so she submitted five videos roughly two minutes each.

“I had to be really loud, frantic, and over the top,” she said. “I also had to pretend I was really bad with technology.”

Akers had a stuffed animal cat in her background for her scenes, she placed pencils in her hair bun, and she shot the videos at her desk in her room, she said. Those details all added verisimilitude, especially the desk, which made it look like she’s a drama teacher at her “home office.”

This play “gives (students) an outlet during the shutdown,” said co-director Mary McLawhorn. The musical has 21 parts, but double that number of students wanted to participate, so there will be two different performances.

Within two hours of posting forms online for this show, “about 36 had signed up,” said co-director Heidi Long. “A lot of these kids had spring performances canceled, and we want them to have that experience” they missed.

A draw for many to ACT2 is the way students from various school systems can collaborate, and even though this production is virtual, “it gives them a reason to call up their friends and talk” about it, said co-director Ashlyn Barnett. “It’s an opportunity to connect.”

A teacher at Antioch Elementary, McLawhorn attends productions throughout the year for several schools, and when ACT youth are in a show, she always sees fellow ACT students there supporting their cohorts even if they attend other schools, she said. “This group of kids is so supportive of each other.”

The plot of “The Show Must Go Online” is current and one everyone can understand, she said. In the show, a school drama department loses their planned production to the pandemic, so they mount the play from their homes.

The musical’s three directors have split up responsibilities for the production, she said. For example, Barnett put all the student videos together.

“The Show Must Go Online” is comprised of students ranging from first-graders to high school sophomores, she said. The musical’s run time is 30 to 40 minutes, so individual clips range from a few seconds to a couple of minutes.

Coker’s clip runs roughly 130 seconds, and “it was hard to fit everything into” that short duration of time, he said. “I had to tweak it a couple of times, taking things out and adding other things.”

“It felt strange,” performing alone to a camera in his room, but “it will be worth it in the end,” Coker added. “In times like these,” this show provides an avenue for theatrical youth to “do what we love to do.”

Because Akers lacked a live audience, she didn’t have that essential feedback to know “if I was going too over the top,” she said. She ultimately did multiple takes, with Akers and her mother selecting the best ones.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, a link to both performances will go live on actdalton.org, as well as Facebook.com/ACTDalton, said Long, a teacher at Tunnel Hill Elementary. The show is free, and the link “will be up for awhile.”

Coker is eager to see not only what the other students in his production have to offer, but what youth do in the second show, he said. “You can take some liberties.”

“This may reach an audience we’ve never reached before,” Long said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how far-flung it becomes.”

Several family members for Akers are scattered around the country — she has grandparents who reside in Indiana and Wyoming, for example — so this will be a rare opportunity for them to see her perform, Akers said. “I’m looking forward to everyone seeing it and hearing their reactions after they watch it.”

Furthermore, “maybe some kids who haven’t done ACT before will see this and give it a try,” McLawhorn said. “We could get some new kids in the program.”

Coker echoed those sentiments, noting this serves as “a little taste of drama for kids just coming in, and they can do it without” a live audience.

Akers was hooked on the ACT when she did her first show last summer, “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and she bonded immediately with Barnett, Long and McLawhorn, she said. “I really loved them and how they work.”

Youth should be “on the lookout” for news regarding ACT2’s next production, “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.,” which was scheduled for June but may be pushed to July due to the pandemic, Barnett said. That show is open to youth in grades 5-12, and information regarding auditions, etc., will be posted on social media, such as the ACT2 Dalton Instagram feed.

Acting “gives you a chance to be someone you’re not in your daily life,” said Coker, who plans to continue his theater career in high school. “It’s a nice change.”

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