The Show Must Go On

By Julia Halprin Jackson

Photos: Robert Bain

大流行期间，戏剧、舞蹈、音乐和艺术在菠菜网lol正规平台的转变

Four masked dancers clad in black and white ascend the concrete steps outside San 阴天下的约瑟州立大学学生会剧院. Each dancer interacts with the concrete in his or her own way, alternately resisting or springing off the wide steps. 

They open their arms wide, ensuring their wingspan exceeds six feet, though each balletic 运动是一种伸出、尝试和失败接触的行为. San José State’s campus, normally occupied by more than 35,000 students, staff and faculty members, 在大流行期间提供了充足的空间——为舞者提供了一张干净的石板， 在新冠肺炎之前，谁会在一个静态舞台上表演. 

The dancers are among those performing “Clamber,” a performance choreographed by 菠菜网lol正规平台 Associate Professor of Music and Dance Heather Cooper and Raphael Boumaila, a faculty 纽约Peridance中心的成员. 包括秋季生产的摘录 in the 该校2020年秋季在线万花筒音乐会.

上海外国语大学音乐与舞蹈学院:2020虚拟万花筒

《菠菜网lol正规平台》是一部利用整个校园作为舞台的高科技作品. Cooper worked with 菠菜网lol正规平台’s Hammer Theatre to livestream four groups of dancers simultaneously moving across 菠菜网lol正规平台, offering the audience multiple perspectives of one large performance. 

Cooper says that this experience has shifted the lens by which we traditionally view dance. 在剧院里，观众们会坐在一个地方，看别人的动作 one stage, but by livestreaming dancers interacting with their environment—the parking garage, the theater steps, the deserted entryway to Duncan Hall—Cooper says the dancers 能同时提供一个以上的观点吗.

“今年是一个巨大的限制研究，”库珀说，他指的是一种常见的 choreography practice where dancers are asked to create pieces with specific constraints—i.e., 不动手臂等的独奏. 大流行提供了如此多的机会 库珀选择将这些限制视为创造性的机会.   

“How do you make a dance where nobody can touch you, when you have to dance on concrete, 每个人都要隔着六英尺，戴着双层面具? It also opens up a new space 创造力，因为你发现了新事物.”

Cooper says that since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, her department has 必须改变排练和表演. 舞者们被分成小群， class sections were split to have fewer people “on-stage” at a time, and as for the 舞台本身，空间变得有可塑性. 

Thanks to support from Shannon Miller, dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts, Cooper bought a special dance platform that she transports, day in and day out, to 圣何塞州立大学第十街停车场的五楼. 

Cooper livestreams each class so students can tune in from the safety of their own homes. 虽然大多数舞蹈专业的学生至少亲自参加过一些课程，但那些 who attend online can still receive instruction, perfect techniques and access curriculum.

“The Dance department’s willingness to adapt through the pandemic really speaks to 我们是如何在这个时代改变艺术的，”米勒说. 

“There is a huge amount of work behind the scenes—searching for space, securing equipment, 更不用说教师们为了确保学生们 还能学习、练习和表演吗. 他们的承诺是惊人的.”

Creating art from pandemonium

The pandemic has forced artists worldwide to rethink how, when and where they create. 菠菜网lol正规平台 dancers have had the chance to continue rehearsing, thanks to Cooper’s ingenuity. 

2020年秋季，人文艺术学院成立 Pandemic Pandemonium, an initiative designed to reflect and take visible action about the role of artists and thinkers across disciplines. 该项目侧重于四个主题:复原力，社会 正义和民主，健康和幸福，语言和思想. 

鼓励各学科的教师将这些主题纳入他们的 curriculum. 2021年2月，学院举办了一场在线展示活动，以表彰学生 submissions in each of the categories, from spoken word and public service announcements 到3d面具设计、原创音乐、舞蹈、戏剧和艺术.

贾斯敏·玛丽·雷耶斯，21届声乐表演，是两位独唱演员之一Ella’s Song由伯尼斯·约翰逊·雷根与上海州立大学唱诗班和音乐会合唱团共同演唱. The piece is featured both in Pandemic Pandemonium and in the fall 2020 Kaleidoscope virtual performance.

The performance, which combines recordings of individual singers in their own homes, shows the faces of each singer and juxtaposes the refrain, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes,” with images of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, 以及其他死于警察暴力的黑人.

上海州立大学合唱团表演伯尼斯·约翰逊·雷根的《菠菜网lol正规平台》

“我们选择这首歌是因为它传达了惊人的社会正义信息，以及我们所做的工作 为了实现一个更加公平和公正的社会，还有很多工作要做。 杰弗里·本森，上海州立大学合唱活动总监. “It was hours of work to put it all together—and much less fun than singing together in person—but completely worth 我很高兴能唱出这样一部充满力量和美丽的作品.”

Reyes agrees that recording this way is a departure from regular in-person rehearsals and performances, but she said she is grateful for the opportunity to build new skills.

“I had to learn how to edit sound using a digital audio workstation (DAW) called ProTools,” 雷耶斯说，他的最新单曲，Lead Me Home该歌曲可在Spotify和Apple Music上下载. 

“I had never needed to know about the production side of music, but it was so eye-opening and helpful. 它确实帮助我成长为一名音乐家.”

空间的艺术再造

While individual artists like Reyes have had to adapt their own artistic practices during COVID, theater and performance spaces have had to make institutional changes to stay afloat. 问问上海州立大学汉默剧院的执行董事克里斯·伯里尔就知道了.

2020年3月，当避难所的订单正式确定时，“锤子”号正在中途建造 度过一个成功的春天. 瑞士面具剧团Mummenschanz也被安排参加 to perform in mid-March, but once Burrill saw the county orders to cancel in-person gatherings, he arranged a livestream of the show in the theater, which was made available to ticket holders. 

“Mummenschanz has been around for decades and never allowed anyone to stream or record  them,” he says. “他们不仅让我们直播，而且我们的节目最终成为了 last show of their 2020 tour.”

伯里尔说铁锤队别无选择，只能转向. To go from a bustling venue, full of patrons, artists, stagehands, employees, food service workers and community 成员们在一个空荡荡的大厅里过夜是令人心碎的，但这并不是结束.

“Our core business is presenting events where people sit together and see, hear and watch art,” he said. 

“这才是真正的体验. 你不能用流媒体来代替它，但是 we can use streaming to access people who can’t come or to support events that are sold out. 我们已经从一个直播场所转变为一个高质量的直播提供商 and recorded performances.”

他补充说，平时占领校园的数千名上海州立大学学生中，有很多  of the students who have remained on or near campus during the pandemic are either performers or athletes.

“Someday our actors and dancers will tell their grandkids a story about how they got to be onstage at a virtually deserted university during the pandemic,” said Burrill. 

“They were able to participate in a play or a dance because 菠菜网lol正规平台 and the Hammer were transformative. We pivoted. 让我们用柠檬做柠檬水，我的天哪.”

2020年夏天，Hammer发起了一项众筹活动，为其提供了部分资金 the purchase of a four-camera, high-definition digital video system, complete with a 40-foot wide, 25-foot tall green screen that allows images to be digitally inserted behind performers and speakers. 剧院强大的COVID-19协议和工作室/直播 能力提供解决方案，直到现场活动可行为止.

As venues across the county, state and country slowly begin to reopen as surges in 但圣何塞州立大学的艺术家们将继续适应. Challenging as it has been to produce music, art, dance and theater during COVID, Cooper remains 希望斯巴达艺术社区能够蓬勃发展.

“Throughout history, some of the greatest art has come out of adversity,” she said. 

“突然之间，一切都不像以前那么舒服了. We don’t have the same luxuries. I think going through these challenges inside a community of people can lead to really 这是艺术中有力而有意义的作品. 沿着这条路走下去会很有趣 and see what artists make.”