COVID-19 has caused the need for many people to change their lifestyles, work routines, and social activities, and the same is true for clubs at Penn State. Unable to meet in-person, clubs have turned to Zoom for hosting meetings and social events just as Penn State’s No Refund Theatre (known as NRT) has done.
This student led and run theatre group usually performs nine or ten plays a semester in the HUB’s FLEX Theater or Forum 111, but this year they have taken to recording most of their plays to put online.
“We’ve filmed things in small groups,” says Jen Brace, a junior in the College of Education and NRT’s Technical Director. “Last semester, I was a part of the filming of short scenes from classic literature that we put up on Youtube.”
The production features gender-bent classic literature shows, like Sherlock Holmes, Romeo & Juliet, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Little Women, among others. All the shows are uniquely filmed in apartments or over Zoom, providing a new take on well-loved stories. The endearing acting and expressions are not lost of camera, either—the actors perform just as well on film as they did on stage.
Gender-bent Dracula in To My Beloved’s Dracula
The club also put together a fifty-minute skit show called NRT Not Live, a spoof on the show Saturday Night Live. The show takes place in an apartment, combining the same skit style and dry humor that SNL uses in a new, pandemic safe style. Creating situations where small groups of members can meet, be it these small skits or scenes or script readings of student written productions, allows for a sense of community in the group that may have otherwise been affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
“I have been surprised with the amount of freshman who have joined the club this year and how they are making sure to get involved,” Jen remarks after being asked about if the restrictions have affected membership. People have been able to get involved in the club’s new, COVID-19 friendly activities, like club trivia nights and an activity surrounding bedtime stories.
“Club members can volunteer to be online reading bedtime stories at night, and people can log onto the link and have a story read to them,” Jen laughs. “It’s kind of silly, but it’s really engaging for members.”
George Bailey and gender-bent Clarence (Clara) in To My Beloved’s It’s a Wonderful Life
While freshman typically get involved in “teching” shows—where crew members work on lighting, sound, sets, and other aspects that pull the shows together— this year it has been easier to get involved in assistant directing and acting.
Jen admits, “there isn’t as much teching to do.” She is the tech director for the club, the lead for three tech chairs that sit on NRT’s board and run the technical aspects of each of the shows. While she has spent most of her time this semester only preparing to buy new equipment for the club, she stepped into the assistant director role herself with the classic literature scenes last semester (though she also helped film and edit the scenes to post online).
And while membership is lower than normal, community engagement has been cultivated in multiple ways. The club has attempted to use “red carpet” question events before online shows, the Youtube premiere feature for chats during the show itself, and Zoom events to get together after shows to talk. They’ve even created a podcast this semester where the directors get together to talk before each show, which they’ve made available on Podbean and Apple Podcasts. But they are still missing the human interaction that usually comes with the club.
“Everyone misses hanging out and going together to see shows that they are not a part of.” Jen says that people miss being together, something that almost everyone can relate to right now.
Elizabeth Bennett in To My Beloved’s “Pride and Prejudice”
“Hopefully in the fall, we’ll get even more engagement and membership, and things can go more back to normal,” Jen says. After just being reelected to her tech director position for next year, Jen is looking forward to going back into theaters and resuming her technical duties more than just giving a workshop this semester about the technical aspects of theater. “We are having a few shows in Schwab Auditorium this semester that will be recorded, but it isn’t the same without an audience.”
Check out all of NRT’s productions from this year, and look out for more information about the rest of their shows coming up this semester. It’s a unique time for theater, but hopefully things can resume soon.
NRT will be having shows throughout the month of April, so be on the look out for viewing information on their Twitter and Instagram: Last Five Years (April 8-10th), Qualities of Starlight (April 17th), Gruesome Playground Injuries (April 24th), and NRT Not Live Round Two (April 30th).
Don’t forget to attend this weekend’s virtual show, The Last Five Years! All shows are free and will be streamed this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Jen Brace is a junior studying Elementary Education with six minors, including Theatre. She has been involved in No Refund Theatre since her freshman year as an assistant director, techie, Tech Chair, and now, Technical Director. Jen is a member of the College of Education Student Council and uses her passions for education and theater by directing summer camp musicals. She can be frequently spotted disinfecting carts or stocking bananas in the downtown Target though she would usually rather be laying in bed.
Amanda Nurse is a senior studying English, Women’s Studies, and World Literature. Besides being Klio’s Editor-in-Chief, Amanda is interning at a tech startup called Alphy, where she writes content about advancing women, and she serves as a member of the fiction, nonfiction, and copyediting committees for Klio’s sister publication, Kalliope. Amanda has previously had her writing published in Folio 2019. One day, Amanda would love to spend her time writing novels and watching superhero movies in a cozy apartment in a big city, surrounded by books.
published 4-7-21