Performing in a Pandemic

For the 2020–21 academic year, faculty and staff were committed to bringing an exceptional academic experience to students from their home offices, but logistical challenges for courses that required a more hands-on element were particularly difficult.

Students taking theatre classes understood this dilemma all too well, and accepted the challenge head-on.

Conner Stanfield ’21, a fourth-year theatre major from Albuquerque, New Mexico, says that the most difficult part was managing the space he both lived and worked in. “While using this space opened new possibilities, like me entering a performance through a closet door, it was often difficult to transition from one version of the space to another.” Most of Stanfield’s performances (both live and pre-recorded) took place in the living room of his off-campus house in Grinnell. “My roommate and I were constantly reconfiguring the furniture and lights so that we could use one room as a site for at least a dozen performances, social events with our bubble, and our day-to-day living.”

Success from the Living Room

While completing three performance-based theatre courses remotely is no small feat in itself, Stanfield had a few accomplishments that he was particularly proud of. His final performances for each of the courses gave him the opportunity to use the full skill set he learned at Grinnell. “I wrote the whole script, performed it by myself, and designed my own lights, sets, and costumes. It was really special to not only create a performance about something that was really meaningful to me, but also to be fully responsible for the execution of the performance.”

The freedom to rehearse and perform on his own schedule has been another silver lining of the past year. Previously, rehearsals have required scheduling time when all the actors are available and reserving a space. Now, his living room has become a stage whenever the moment strikes.

Stanfield is also working to complete a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) with Craig Quintero, associate professor of theatre and dance, called Staging Loneliness which will culminate in a performance from his living room of The International Stud by Harvey Fierstein.

Working remotely has made collaborating with individuals who aren't physically in the same location much more seamless. “My MAP adviser is in Taiwan and our stage manager is in California, but so far everything has run smoothly.”

A Standing Ovation

Through creativity, compassion, and consideration professors and students rose to the challenge of this defining year and continued to problem-solve and contribute to the common good.

As Stanfield reflects on the past year, he says, “I think that doing virtual theatre has made us all better theatre makers. We have to communicate even more clearly since we can’t be in the same space. We have to be more responsible for other elements that we might not have been before.”

Although Stanfield will be ending his final year at Grinnell on a successful note, he is very excited for the day he can return to in-person theatre performances.