Established in 1946, Asheville Community Theatre isn’t just the oldest continuously operating theater in the city, it’s also one of the first community theaters in the nation. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t willing to jump feet-first into new technology when coronavirus made traditional performances impossible.
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“Our mission is to provide entertainment, enrichment, and education through the practice and celebration of the theater arts,” says Artistic Director Chanda Calentine. “Our vision is for the theater to be an integral part of the community.”
Like most community theater staffers in leadership roles, Calentine wears many hats and balances a variety of jobs within ACT. Her duties include overseeing classes, camps, and productions; acting as a hiring manager for staff and teachers; managing budgets and program rentals; and making the bulk of creative decisions, like selecting shows, casting, and working with artists to craft the best performance possible.
That delicate—and hectic—balancing act became even more precarious in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw Calentine’s typical live performance formula fly out the window just a couple of weeks before her developing show went into tech.
On with the show
After months of work, Calentine and her cast weren’t ready to throw in the towel.
“We were producing Little Women,” she says. “We continued to rehearse in hopes the space would re-open, but once we had more information, we decided we wanted to move forward online, but didn’t have a platform.”
Enter On the Stage, which offered Calentine and other theatre professionals around the nation a variety of assets to produce a virtual show in the wake of pandemic shut-downs. The process started with a virtual Q&A session hosted by On the Stage founder Hunter Arnold, who navigated participants through this innovative creative process and offered tips on how to engage the community, connect with audiences from afar and raise funds for specific productions and the organization at large.
“We were so excited to be able to use a platform that would allow for donations,” says Calentine. “Not only was the staff, especially Lauren, incredibly helpful and supportive, but it gave us a way forward.”
With a clear solution available, the team at ACT quickly honed the skills necessary to create and market a successful virtual show, from learning how to operate the streaming technology, to creating a production website and mastering online ticketing and donations. On the creative side, they kept things modest for their first foray into online performance.
“We focused on lighting, having a basic background, and telling the story,” says Calentine. “At first, we were hoping to incorporate costumes and designs, but due to it being our first time using this platform, we wanted to keep it simple.”
Creative Problem Solving
Perhaps the biggest challenge ACT faced with their production of Little Women was the complete and sudden shift from a traditional performance to a virtual one. While casting and the bulk of rehearsals were done in the standard in-person format, a different set of trials arose when things went virtual.
Calentine realized that she would have to rethink the way she directed her cast and brought the show to life.
“We had to adjust from working on the stage and blocking,” she says. “We had to create characters that fit into a box instead of performing on a stage, and we had to find spaces that had sufficient light.”
The performers also found it challenging to locate their inspiration and motivation without the buzz and reactions of a live crowd. Calentine rectified that with a few tips for her actors.
“Through the rehearsal, we allowed cast to keep mics on so they could hear people laughing and responding,” she says. “We talked about acting for the camera, instead of for a person. Luckily, we had been rehearsing prior to working on Zoom. We also discussed how many people would be watching, and to remember they would be having responses, even if we couldn’t see or hear them.”
A New way of doing Business
When it came time to market and promote the show, On the Stage offered myriad assets, from a customizable website to automated social media posts, tools for behind-the-scenes content, an art library, and more. Instead of spending hours of valuable time focused on the marketing, Calentine relied upon On the Stage to get the word out so she, in turn, could concentrate on creating the best show possible.
“We utilized everything they offered,” she says.
And, while morphing Little Women to fit into an online mold was undeniably harder than producing a normal performance, it wasn’t quite as difficult as Calentine anticipated. This was due in large part to the tools she was given, and her ability to collaborate with other creatives on the platform.
“We had to switch the entire way we worked, especially the learning curve of tech,” she says. “But because of [On The Stage], it was much easier, especially with the support system in place. We were able to talk on Facebook to others working through the same issues we were having, and we could also call on Lauren to assist with questions. The big takeaway is that everyone was impressed with the ability to move forward with the stories and share them with the community.”
She continues: “The website was easy to manage for the audience members donating or reserving tickets; the production team found it easy to run rehearsals, pull donations and find audience members’ information,” she says. “Everything was made easier because of the platform.”
So impressed with On the Stage, ACT actually utilized it to produce a handful of other shows and events beyond Little Women.
“We had an online prom for our high school students, did two readings for our younger students, and also did a one woman show filming live,” Calentine says.
The team at ACT wholeheartedly backs On the Stage and its virtual tools—and encourages other creatives to use them, as well. That way, those involved in the theatre process get to focus on what matters: producing a great show.
“Do it,” she says. “This is a supportive and quality platform that sets you up for success. Our staff was not equipped to manage anything online other than emails. We were sitting on shows with no way to produce them. This platform made it easy for me – I set up the account, created the websites, set up emails, pulled donations, sent lost ticketing information out – literally one person could run this to make the show happen. I think there is an opportunity here to be more creative, which we look forward to exploring.”
Interested in Streaming Your Next Production?
Visit On The Stage to learn more about their easy, all-in-one platform.