BWW Blog: A Zoomtastical Production - Interviews with Team and Cast

As promised in the last blog in my "Zoomtastical Production" series, I interviewed members of Point Park's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, gathering another perspective of our virtual production. Here are the interviews with team member Elleanna Stoner and cast member Alli Sutton!

~Interview with Elleanna Stoner (IG: @elleannastoner)~

Q: What was your team title for It's a Wonderful Life?

A: I was an Assistant Stage Manager.

Q: How was your job altered due to the pandemic and virtual, filmed style of the show?

A: Part of my job that changed was, to cut down on people in the space, we did not have a costuming crew on set, so I had to track costumes and help actors with wardrobe at filming. This even included last minute changes, additions, and alterations. I kept a sewing kit and many safety pins at my side at all times.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of this show?

A: The most challenging aspect was having to film the show out of order. Since we filmed by location and character, it was sometimes hard to keep track of the story and know exactly what we were filming each night, but our team (ASMs, SM, and ADs) all created wonderful paperwork that helped.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect?

A: I think one of the most rewarding aspects is being able to have a very unique show on my resume. I think Point Park did a great job of helping us be successful during the pandemic and I have a very good experience to discuss in future job interviews, and even to my family and friends.

Q: If you had three words to describe the process of creating It's a Wonderful Life, what would they be?

A: Entertaining, unique, and collaborative.

~Interview with Alli Sutton (IG: alligatorrrrrrrrrr)~

Q: What roles did you play in It's a Wonderful Life?

A: I played a WBFR Radio Singer, Zuzu, Charlotte, Mrs. Hatch, and Ruth.

Q: What was the process like as an actress for this show?

A: Personally, I really enjoyed this process! We rehearsed as a full cast on Zoom and then would film one by one in the Pittsburgh Playhouse, both in front of a green screen and on our sound stage. It gave me a brief glimpse into the realm of film which got me excited for other outlets of my career. Working with our director Steven Breese both on Zoom and during the filming process was a pleasure and pushed me to find vastly different and creative characters for each scene I was a part of. As a radio singer, I learned roughly 16 different Christmas jingles for the show in harmony with three other individuals. For this process, we each sang one by one in a recording booth and then the audios were spliced together to create one consecutive track. This was a thrilling new way to collaborate!

Q: What was the most challenging aspect performing this virtual production?

A: I would say a challenge of this virtual show was being completely alone when filming a scene with other characters. This brought about a great need for imagination and listening, as we could only hear our partners voice through an ear piece. However, this sparked a sense of creativity that I hadn't experienced in a typical scene setting before. It allowed for a different sense of freedom to take up space and be strong in my own acting choices as there was no one else to play off of.

Q: What did you learn from this show?

A: I learned flexibility and versatility from being a part of It's A Wonderful Life. I learned how to dive into new projects and still feel a sense of togetherness in a world that is healing in isolation.

Q: If you had retitled this show based on your personal experiences being in the production, what would the new title be?

A: If I had to retitle this show based on my own experience I would name it, Only A Call Away.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Elleanna and Alli, two amazing, talented women of the show! Prepare for the final blog of the "Zoomtastical Production" series, which will include a post production reflection after the play airs.

For information about Point Park's production of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, please click this link: https://www.broadwayondemand.com/not-live/Pb3T1d8cvuZb-its-a-wonderful-life-a-live-radio-show--the-pittsburgh-playhouse?channel=live-productions