OVS students and faculty worked together over past several months to stage the virtual school musical, A Killer Party, on April 1-2.
Prior to COVID 19, the cast and crew for the play would host an in-person screening of their play, but this year things are looking a bit different.
“The play will be broadcasted at two specific times, and you will watch it on your own computer from wherever,” explained Biology teacher, choir leader, and one of the directors of the play, Lisa Boyd. “Although I think it would be fun to be able to share the viewing experience together, I don’t know how we could do it.”
There were lots of compromises made throughout the play production process thus far, but the cast and crew made the most out of it.
“It has been very fun, actually! Having to be creative about which show to choose, how to do auditions, then how to accomplish all of this in the revolving situation that is the Pandemic has been thrilling,” said AP Psychology teacher, dorm counselor, and head director, Carmen Doane-Barkan.
“The show we decided on is A Killer Party, which is a show written and performed during the Pandemic,” Mrs. Doane-Barkan added. “When Broadway went dark in March with the rest of us, writers, directors, sound designers, musicians and actors set to work bringing theater to the audience in their homes.”
The show A Killer Party was created during COVID-19, which has been helpful in aiding the production process as a whole.
“That was the brilliance of choosing this show, as it was built to be filmed during the pandemic,” said Mrs. Doane-Barkan. “The writers and publishing company made it as easy as they could to ‘get this show in the can’ so to speak.”
Unlike years before, the production process behind the play is much more involved and takes a big team to accomplish a finished product.
“Currently, we are recording the songs,” explained Mrs. Boyd. “Mr. Boyd has recording equipment in his classroom, and he and I have started recording students singing their songs. Meline will be our primary videographer, Mr. Farmer will be involved in the editing process, Mrs. Barkan will be the main director, and Ms. Whipple and I will be assisting her.”
There are currently nine upper campus students who are a part of the cast.
Upper Campus junior Alex Alvarez has been blown away by the effort and support of the cast and crew.
“It’s been a really fun experience so far,” Alex said. “It definitely poses its challenges in learning to adjust to recording in a more professional like studio setting, but for someone who wants to be an artist, this is a very useful and imperative skill.”
The process really shows all that OVS stands for when in the face of adversity.
“The biggest challenge so far has been getting situated as a film production rather than a stage production,” explained Mrs. Doane-Barkan. “The director’s meetings and planning meetings are quite different, and working remotely with cast and crew comes with its tech and Wifi challenges, making sure everyone has read emails, and making sure that all of the details are clearly communicated.”
Although this year’s production has had many challenges to overcome, the cast and crew of A Killer Party have persevered to bring a fantastic show to all those who tune in for the April screenings.
“It is a lot of work, and we hope that the audience is able to enjoy the talents of our actors, the story we tell, and that the cast and crew will have memories that will last a lifetime,” Mrs. Doane-Barkan said.