BY EVAN CAIN
VICE-PRESIDENT/ CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF/ ARTS AND CULTURE HEAD
(Image source linked to image)
INTRODUCTION
Hello, fellow quarantined artistic folk! We are so excited to have you here on The QuaranTimes Arts and Leisure page. This is part of the site that will discuss and offer resources for staying in touch with your craft during these tough times!
Why Theatre?
The Coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down and many find it difficult to pursue and keep in touch with the things they love. While the whole world has had to adapt to these new social distancing rules, the theatre community has had a particularly tough time. The magic of theatre comes from the live audience that accepts an act as true for the evening and it’s hard to perform with no audience to bounce energy off of. This is why it is important to keep practicing the craft itself and keep supporting others who share this passion.
Online Acting
As a performer, it is very important to keep the tools of your craft sharp and ready to go. One of the things that has helped me improve my acting at home is finding new monologues to perform and sending them to friends for evaluation. A helpful resource for finding unique monologues is The New Play Exchange, which provides all new shows to create monologues from! This site does require a membership, so I would suggest looking a little further into it before purchasing access. Another awesome way to create new monologues is to simply READ PLAYS! The best way to find new material is to have multiple sources to choose from and reading a play a week (maybe a little ambitious) will offer some ideas. Then, once you find one you like, I suggest either recording yourself saying it and listen to it over and over again or writing it down multiple times to engrave it in your brain. Once you have played with and mastered the piece, record it and watch! This can be a little intimidating at first, but surely, with practice, it will become more natural. Next week’s article will delve into the basics of self- taping monologues/songs for auditions or for yourself!
Online Singing
The voice is a very powerful instrument in theatre and one of the most important jobs in musical theatre is keeping your voice healthy and pristine. A few ways I have been doing this are through my own personal vocal warmups, through my voice teacher, and through SAVI's Wednesday workouts! Every Wednesday, there’s a new zoom call that you can join and easily stretch your range with some really awesome people. Another idea is to just put on some Karaoke and jam out! That’s always a really fun way to work out your voice with songs you love.
Online Dancing
Movement is another vital part of theatre arts as it provides yet another way to tell a story effectively. There are some amazing dance classes online that I have been trying out including, San Diego Danceworks, which is a youtube channel that teaches many styles of dance. This one is especially important for theatre because it has tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop classes. If you want to try something new and unique, another great resource is The Gaga Technique Class, which suggests donations of $5.00. This technique, developed by Ohad Naharin, an Israeli choreographer, focuses on helping practitioners raise physical awareness by centering their mind around the rhythm of the body and how it makes them feel.
Future Articles and Ideas
This week’s article serves as an introduction to this page and its goal, which is to provide support and resources for those whose arts world has been turned upside down due to the Coronavirus. In the future, a few topics for discussion will be:
The Basics of Self-Taping
What’s Currently Happening on Broadway Right Now
The Best Socially Distanced Theatre Performances
Ways To Cope With A Cancelled Performance
Favourite Show-Tune Albums
Resource Board
All of the resources mentioned in this week’s article, as well as many others, will be available on the Theatre Arts Resource Board. This is meant to offer ideas including websites, videos, etc. to keep the magic of theatre alive during this time and to keep your skills pristine and ready for the stage!
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