The transition to online learning in the last few terms has unearthed many new challenges for the Theatre and Performance program at UWaterloo. However, with challenges come opportunities to continue pushing the dynamic boundaries of theatre creation.
Before the pandemic, all courses and productions were held in person. Students in technical production classes learned hands-on skills with lighting, sound, and carpentry equipment. Audiences filled the seats of the Theatre of the Arts.
The rehearsal process is one area that has been fundamentally changed by the pandemic. Each scene from this term’s production, scenes from carried away on the crest of a wave, is staged with social distancing in mind. When maintaining a six-foot distance is not possible, performers wear face shields in addition to their face masks.
Livestreaming provides us an opportunity to re-engage with our work within the restrictions of a challenging and interesting alternate theatrical experience.
Though it might seem restrictive to have actors maintain social distancing on stage, director Andy Houston notes that in some ways this adds to the resonance of the performance. “These stories represent glimpses of the human spirit, facing enormous adversity yet driven by a will to come together for reflection and sharing — a desire that our own pandemic-impacted world knows all too well.”
carried away on the crest of a wave by David Yee is a series of stories that follow the impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as they resonate globally and move us with the power of water and the beauty of human resilience. The deadliest tsunami in recorded history, the waves killed over 250,000 people from forty-six countries as they struck the coasts of fourteen nations spanning two continents.
Seven senior Theatre and Performance majors comprise the core of the creative team, representing a culmination of their undergraduate degree. “The staging of scenes from carried away on the crest of a wave will reveal the effects of a global natural disaster through a surreal lens,” Houston explains. “In the ebb and flow of trauma, the unconscious and perceptual space of dreams will exist alongside and within our experience and understanding of reality.”
carried away on the crest of a wave cast members in rehearsal. Left to right: Tony Liu, Binoy Pattharwala, May Nemat Allah, Abbey MacDonald, Qing Wen, Mira J. Henderson, Yuru Su.
As the program’s first ever live-streamed production, scenes from carried away on the crest of a wave aims to connect our communities in times of uncertainty through the medium of live theatrical performance. Though performing and directing for film and for the stage are two very different arts, the cast will not be modifying their performances for the cameras in the room. Instead, varied camera placement around the stage allows for more creative freedom to capture the actors’ movements, and convey the staging of the play through a weave of perspectives from each camera.
May Nemat Allah, a student in her fifth and final year of Arts and Business, Theatre and Performance at UWaterloo, is juggling responsibilities as an actor, Assistant Production Manager, and Dramaturg. “What I am most excited about for this show is learning more about online theatre and the world of livestreaming events. For artists, audiences, and communities, the silence of theatres all over the world has been deafening and unsettling”, she says. “Livestreaming provides us an opportunity to re-engage with our work within the restrictions of a challenging and interesting alternate theatrical experience.”
For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, visit uwcarriedaway.com (There is a special alumni rate available.)
Story author Eloise Fan is a joint honours major in Environment Resources Sustainability and Theatre and Performance; this winter term, she is on co-op as Publicity and Outreach Associate for the Theatre and Performance program.
