By Elizabeth Goldman
Staff Writer
Costa’s Drama Department put on their quarterly student-run Zoomtime Theater, previously known as Noontime Theater, on Oct. 28 via live stream.
Students in each drama class wrote their own comedic or dramatic scenes, which were then voted on by their class. The winning scenes got to be a part of the showcase, which included a total of five scenes, all written, directed and produced by the students.
“One of the things we had to work on in class was how to reconceive [the use of] a stage on a computer instead of a [physical] stage,” Costa Drama teacher Jonathan Westerberg said. “Entrances and exits become clicking mute buttons and camera buttons, stage design becomes virtual backgrounds or lighting in bedrooms and blocking becomes positioning yourself on screen.”
The students performed their scenes live on Zoom, where it was then live streamed on Youtube for the rest of the school to watch. Video capabilities such as screen sharing, muting and turning on and off the camera took the place of entrances, exits and sets.
“It was our first attempt to livestream content, so it wasn’t without a few glitches, but all in all I thought that the students’ energy, their thoughtfulness and their performance carried through,” Westerberg said. “I definitely chalk it up to a success.”
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