Drama department prepares for November virtual play

The pandemic has been the cause for many changes to the way that things have been done recently, and one of these things is Central’s fall play. This year, Central’s theater program will virtually perform the play “7 Ways to Say I love You” by Adam Szymkowicz. 

“7 Ways to Say I Love You” is a collection of short plays written by Adam Szymkowicz that are cute and funny as well as sad. There are all sorts of stories from cute and awkward about asking out a clerk at a pizza store, to love stories about fate. While the main plot of the plays is love, other themes include pain and comedy. 

When it came to auditioning for the play, all Central students were able to audition to be a performer. “All performers and crew members had to complete an online application. Performers also had to create an original monologue on the theme of love and submit it via Flip Grid,” drama director Scott Mead said.  

Rather than having students meet in person to rehearse the play, “We have been rehearsing virtually after school via an Office 365 Team I created for the show,” explains Mead, “I’ve created a rehearsal schedule and have a team meeting that students in the show have access to and we meet and rehearse. I use break out rooms for crews to meet and for performers to meet with their scene partners to rehearse together.” 

The procedure for activities with theater crew have also changed. “Crews have been helping to plan the props, costumes and makeup, lighting, and sound/music for the performers while they are at home,” Mead said. “Crew heads also had to submit an interview, via Flip Grid, as to why they wanted to be a crew head.” 

While the theater crew will be helping the performers with things like props, makeup, and more, a part of the crew will also help with the virtual performance of the show. “There is also a crew that will edit all of the video recordings of each scene in order to be streamed for audiences to watch,” Mead said. 

Even though a lot about how to watch the play is up in the air, “At this point we are planning to stream the show on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. for audiences to watch,” Mead said.