BWW Blog: Bringing The Last Five Years to the Virtual Realm

Doing theatre virtually has given the theatre club at my school the opportunity to do shows we might never have been able to in past seasons. Being on the board of the Columbia Musical Theatre Society, it would have been tough to do a production of The Last Five Years in the past, due to the fact that it would only allow for two students to be cast. However, in this unusual circumstance, we have taken the situation and made the best of it. As a cast and crew, we have been able to come together as a community to make something we're all proud of, something I never thought would be possible as my creativity rotted away in quarantine all summer. Only having two voices and two actors, we don't have to worry about blending a whole ensemble of singers virtually, making both logistics and tech much easier. It's also allowed people like myself to take on new roles. Being a video editor on this project has given me great experience and has helped me blend my love of theatre and film together. We are also able to work from all over the country. Luckily, our two actors are based in New York, so we can film some scenes on location. But everyone else on the team is spread across the entire country!

As Zoom theatre continues to grow, I think it's important to really consider what stories and which composers and authors make sense for the virtual environment. Jason Robert Brown's work lends itself to this, really using the power of song and solo voices to tell a harrowing story through The Last 5 Years.

However, the online process has also taken a lot of personal adjustment. I am getting ready for my first 'virtual tech week', which seems so strange to me. Our actors have finished, and now it's up to me and my editing partner to finish the final product. Though very nervous for our premier, I cannot wait to show the world what we've been working on!

Follow along with our tech week @cmts_thelast5years on instagram!

Showings stream November 19-21