This year’s theater productions at Abington Junior High School and Abington Senior High School will be performances for the record books: the schools’ first-ever shows rehearsed virtually and streamed to a virtual audience.
At the Junior High, where they will be performing the musical Once on This Island JR., in light of COVID-19 restrictions and health guidelines, students are learning their lines, lyrics and steps virtually, and then recording their performances in a hybrid manner. This involves individual recordings in front of a green screen at school, which are filmed in accordance with Abington School District’s Health and Safety Plan. The teachers and staff leading the production–which is co-directed by music teacher, Ms. Melinda Walker, and math teacher, Ms. Amanda Daly–converted offices and practice rooms in the music wing to serve as single-person studios, which are cleaned in between student performers. Being in an enclosed space alone provides the ability for students to remove their masks for filming lines, with these clips being blended with other on-stage performances that will be filmed later this spring and broadcast to an online audience. Any in-person rehearsals and performances on the stage will also be done in a socially distant manner and while wearing masks. The pre-recorded, green screen portions will be projected onto the stage behind the in-person performers, along with backdrops that are being designed off site at students’ homes.
“While there are a lot of logistics to work through with the District’s first-ever livestreamed productions, this is a great learning opportunity for our students and staff, supporting an accessible experience in which students can participate, regardless of whether they are attending school in person or remotely,” said Mr. Matthew Harris, Supervisor of Fine Arts in Abington School District. “This format will also maintain our ability to have an audience sit down and watch the show at the same time, albeit in remote locations.”
At Abington Senior High School, co-directors Mr. Timothy Myers and Ms. Lori Wolf are tackling two productions at once: the annual school play, 13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview, as well as, the annual musical production, Peter Pan JR. Whereas the Junior High production has some in-person components, the Senior High shows will be recorded entirely in a virtual format and pieced together in a final video that will be broadcast live. Set and costume designs, however, are being done in-person at school, and the student performers schedule times to pick up their props and materials to bring home with them for virtual rehearsals and recordings.
Both schools’ shows do not have scheduled air dates yet, but ticket information will be communicated at a later time.
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