BWW Blog: The Virtual Theatre Co. – Four Months In

Last August, I received an Instagram DM from a girl named Alyssa whom I'd never met. Like me, she is a young actress from Seattle, so we move in similar circles and she'd seen me perform. She was asking me to join the creative team of a new online theatre company she was forming, called The Virtual Theatre Co., which would offer classes and productions for young artists. I love teaching and had been hoping to gain more experience in it, and many dear friends of mine were on the team as well, so I said yes. About four months later, I've only fallen more in love with teaching and with the TVTC community, and I've watched this little theatre company grow in a way I never imagined, bringing in Broadway professionals, producing virtual plays and musicals, starting a vlog, and so much more. This week, I caught up with Alyssa Jiwani, The Virtual Theatre Co's founder and a freshman studying drama and education at NYU, to chat about TVTC's journey and to reflect on where we've come since our launch. (parts of this interview have been edited for length and clarity)

"I thought of TVTC over the summer", Alyssa says, asked about TVTC's origins. "I started hearing from a bunch of my friends all over Seattle about all of the different shows and theatre programs that were getting cancelled and it kinda broke my heart!" Beyond the severe disappointment of those she talked to, she "started thinking of my own high school experience and how much theatre meant to me. It was the one place where I felt like I was most myself, it was my safe space, it was my home!" Imagining an experience without that "source of comfort and joy and hope" was painful. "And that same day that I heard about that, it sounds so cheesy but I took a nap that evening, I woke up at like 10pm and I was like, total lightbulb, 'I'm starting my own theatre company!', and I told my mom, and she laughed at me, she was like 'Oh really, are you? Good idea Alyssa, goodnight!' because, you know, it's 10pm." That night, Alyssa messaged an array of college-age theatremakers she knew or admired (including me): the artists who would become TVTC's original creative team. "I was like 'hey, this is my idea, what do you think?' and the craziest thing was that every single person said yes. I was just shocked, and it just proved to me how much people needed this, and it's become such an amazing creative outlet for all of us to try new things and grow as educators and directors and it's taught us - taught me - so much as a performer as well".

Reflecting on the biggest surprises since founding, Alyssa immediately points to "the family and community we've created, because it's online -I never thought that would be possible, I never thought that I was going to meet my best friends thru zoom. I've made friends all over the country, and all over the world actually". She's treasured watching our students connect as well, via cast group chats, social zooms, even playing Among Us. "That's been the biggest surprise: the fact that we've managed to create a theatre family online? Like, what the heck? And that's what this is all about, really, so that's meant the most to me I think."

In addition to highlight of community, Alyssa notes that "when I created this, I was very specific about the fact that I wanted this to be a theatre education company and organization, not just a theatre company. My goal was not ever to produce Broadway-ready content, it was to help people grow. And I've seen so much growth - there have been so many students that have joined session 1 in one or two classes and now they have huge roles in the current shows for session 2 and they're planning to do session 3 and it just fills my heart like no other to see this growth and to feel like we're making an impact, and I can see people, they're happier when they come off the zooms, and I can see the magic of theatre is coming to them, even through the computer." She echoes my own experience teaching contemporary and musical theatre jazz for TVTC: hearing from my students at the end of Session 1 about how they felt they had learned and grown despite chaotic circumstances, how my goals for what they would take away from the class had totally been achieved, was an absolute highlight of my fall.

Students have told Alyssa how they've gained confidence because of TVTC; how they started out so scared and "then they found a family here, and they thrive. Like its such a positive community and everyone is thriving in it and ugh. My heart. I cannot take this. [laughs]"

Another highlight Alyssa notes is all the connections we've made - how incredible it's been connecting with Broadway stars and making friends with the emerging professional theatre artists of the creative team. "To know that we are the next generation,[..] and we are all working together now and becoming friends now and starting to take over the theatre industry now - I'm so excited about it."

While simultaneously running a fledgling theatre company and getting a theatre degree might seem impossible, the fact that NYU's theatre program has been all online has made Alyssa's juggling act a little easier. "I start classes about 5 o clock in the morning our time, over here in Seattle, so I finish school pretty early, usually around like 12-2 my time, so then I have a whole afternoon where I get to work on TVTC things, and all my homework, and I do a lot of TVTC on the weekends. It also does help that I'm a huge night owl, and a lot of the team is as well, so we have a lot of late night zooms and people getting stuff done then." In fact, Alyssa's been able to make friends at NYU through TVTC, as many of her classmates are on the creative team, "so now school becomes easier because now I know people on zoom. But it's also helped me understand where the students at TVTC are coming from, and I've been able to connect with them on a better level because of that experience too."

Asked what she is most excited about in TVTC's future, Alyssa says, "So many things! The possibilities are endless! That's one thing that I love about this online format, is how we can really pursue our mission of inclusivity and accessibility. I think the online format has given us this boost into that realm of seeing what's possible if we are an inclusive, accessible, diverse space, and I don't think we're going to change that ever and I think as a team, we are going to keep pushing that into all the different realms we work in in the theatre, and in life as we move forward, and that's so exciting. I feel the magic with this group and I see the potential, I see that we have so much more that we're going to do and so much more to give as a community, and I'm so excited to see what we become."

Alyssa tells me how amazing it's been working with people she's looked up to - including me, apparently! I'm surprised and honored, and recognize in her words something else that's been special about the TVTC experience: opportunities for learning, not just for students from the creative team, but between creative team members. I'm currently preparing to teach musical theatre jazz again for a future session, this time with an incredible assistant who's hoping to learn more from me about choreography. Through TVTC, Alyssa's given me the opportunity to learn more about teaching, and if my work can teach or inspire others the way she and other artists of the creative team have inspired me, I'll consider it a success.

When I ask for any other reflections on where we are about four months after the company's public launch, Alyssa is incredulous: "I cannot believe it's been 4 months! It feels like just yesterday when I was reaching out to people, and we had our first creative team zoom meeting, and we were planning our launch party cabaret!" Four months later, her drive and energy have only grown, and they've been joined by "this sense of family and community. Before, it was just like getting it out there, and I felt excited about the possibility, but now I see the possibility and potential and I am way more excited about it. I am so motivated going into the new year, like watch out world, TVTC is coming in strong!"