Gorham Middle School (GMS) is presenting their first virtual show “Once Upon a Zoom” by Edith Weiss on March 28 at 6 p.m. The directors, Tana Krohn and Greg Walton, and cast have been working hard to put together this production which will be recorded and available for free to the public through April 11.
In “Once Upon a Zoom,” the main character, Ava, played by sixth grader, Molly Peters, has agreed to work with some classmates on a project about the modern relevance of fairy tales. Ava finds herself doing all of the work on her own for this project, but then, is suddenly “Zoom-bombed” by fairy tale characters. Ava’s Fairy Godfather has been tasked with helping Ava with her project, and thus recruits other fairy tale friends, to lend their expertise, and somehow, a few other characters stumble onto the Zoom scene as well.
This is the first time GMS has performed a theater production virtually, and naturally that presents some challenges. Zoom glitches and Internet connection issues have been frequent occurrences. However, another connection issue has also been presented. Tana Krohn, one of the directors of this production, explained that the in-person connection just is not there.
Krohn described how a rehearsal for them typically went, and how the friendly side conversations, and other things of that sort have stopped.
“This past week when I was handing out costumes was the first time I had met most of the students in-person who are in the show. So, all of the 6th graders, all of the people that hadn’t done shows with us before, I was just meeting in-person for the first time after months of working with them virtually,” Krohn said. She also explained how everything is new for them. “This show isn’t any more work than a normal show, it’s just new work,” she said. “We have been directing shows here at GMS for 9 years and everything we have done in the past has had to be put aside.”
On the other hand, it is truly amazing how the theater community at GMS have been able to adapt to the current circumstances. Sixth grader, Alex Tukey, who plays the Fairy Godfather in this show, explained his excitement to perform this show. “The characters are all funny in their own way and it is so amazing to see how it has all come together,” he said.
The Directors and cast invite everyone to see their show produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Denver, Colorado. Starting March 28, the show can be viewed here.