To love, honor and co-star: make room for two on zoom

To love, honor and co-star: make room for two on zoom

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Last fall, actor Jason O’Connell agreed to star in a new production of ‘Talley’s Folly,’ Lanford Wilson’s sad double cutter, for Syracuse Stage. The other hand? His wife, Kate Hamill. While filming the play in an empty auditorium, they would spend much of their rehearsal time at home on Zoom. As much as you leave your roll at the stage door.

“There’s no escape,” O’Connell mostly joked. ‘There’s no time apart, there’s no respite. There is no one to complain about my co-star. ”

Since March, when the theater started appearing online, smart manufacturers have been looking for solutions for Zoom boxes and ways to create the intimacy that only actors who share the same airspace can offer. A friendly solution from Covid-19: hire couples who live together, to treat each other – on couches, in bedrooms and occasionally a closed stage – without schedules or loss of time.

This explains how viewers saw two Apple family brothers and sisters – Maryann Plunkett’s Barbara and Jay O. Sanders’ Richard – appear in quarantine in the latest Richard Nelson trilogy, with their West Village apartment for Barbara’s Rhinebeck -house. Co-starring actors also made a surprising scene possible in Sarah Gancher’s “Russian Troll Farm.” After spending the play on separate screens, the unbelieving workers Greg Keller and Danielle Slavick suddenly jumped into the same box and then jumped into bed.

Some of these couples have been performing together for decades; others almost never shared a party. None of them could have predicted that they would turn their homes into theaters and reassure the neighbors that the blood-curdling scream was just a job.

The New York Times spoke to six theater couples about performing together while living together. These are excerpts from the conversations.

HAMILL We know a lot of people who have a professional / personal gap, but we really do not have it.

How was the work from home?

HAMILL We are both workaholics. We had to adapt to a slightly different pace of life. Like, “Do we have hobbies?” After we finished our first Zoom rehearsal of ‘Talley’s Folly’, we turned off the camera and we both started crying because we missed that part of our lives.

O’CONNELL It was very, very special, but also bitterly sweet.

HAMILL In the pandemic, you as a couple get out of it, like, “Wow, this is really strong and wonderful,” or “Oh no. I’m glad we like each other.”

How they met At the National Theater Conservatory in Denver, Colo. “We talked about death once in the library,” Keller said.

Pandemic project “Russian troll farm”

Have you worked together a lot?

SLAVICK We did a lot of workshops and lectures and stuff, but just one other production together, Sheila Callaghan’s “That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play.”

KELLER No one wanted to bring the passion in our relationship to the shelves.

How was the work from home?

SLAVICK Exciting. But also scary. I was still breastfeeding during the exercises and was also pregnant, so I was very nauseous. Having people part of your home life was just defenseless. But you’re like my favorite actor. So I like the opportunity to talk to you and listen to you in that medium.

KELLER I blush away from here.

SLAVICK There was so much equipment! It took over our apartment.

KELLER A new couple with a child has moved in. They would hear us screaming at each other while she had fake orgasms.

SLAVICK I actually stopped them in the hall and let them know they did not have to call the police.

How they met In graduate school at the University of Illinois. “I will never forget seeing her for the first time,” Dirden said. “This storm strength is coming straight at me.”

Pandemic projects ‘New Mathematics’ as part of the 24-hour plays viral monologues; “Lessons in survival”

Have you worked together a lot?

DICKINSON The first show we did was ‘Angels in America’. Brandon was Belize and I was the angel.

DIRDEN We work together maybe every other year. It actually helps the relationship. We can not be too bad for each other, because we will probably have to work together soon.

How was the work from home?

DICKINSON The 24 hour plays reached us. I told Brandon, ‘We’re doing this. You’re going to do one and I’m going to do one. Because we have to do a little art. “So we did and I said to them, ‘That was great. Brandon and I have to do one together. “Two weeks later, they were like, ‘We want to take you up on this.’ And I was like, “How do we go to homeschool?” We told our playwright, ‘You must incorporate our child.’ Which became fun. Although we killed each other for almost five seconds.

DIRDEN chase [their son] was the best part of the process. He headed very well.

How they met Friends set them up. “We were going to see ‘Doubt,'” Urie said. “Very romantic.”

Pandemic projects “Nora Highland,” “Buyer & Cellar,” “Frankie and Will”

Have you worked together a lot?

URIE Recently, “Hamlet,” which we did in Washington, DC. We also worked together on a few film projects. Ryan and Halley Feiffer wrote ‘He’s Way More Famous Than You’, which I led.

SPAHN That was when we learned how to work together. We changed our apartment in the production office.

How was the work from home?

SPAHN Jeremy Wein does Play-PerView. He reaches out. I’ve never even heard of Zoom. I have this two-handed, “Nora Highland.” Michael and Tessa Thompson did it live online.

URIE There was no audience, but it felt like theater because it was alive.

SPAHN We would talk about the rush to the feeling of jitters in the opening night.

URIE “Buyer & Cellar,” which we did in our living room, had exactly that. It was a great old comedy put together before you. Ryan was the director of photography.

SPAHN After one, we did a short play written by Talene Monahon: “Frankie and Will.” Our dog was in it. And we have a cat, so we had to wrestle animals. It gave us something to put into our manic, terrified and laser-focused energy.

How they met During the production of ‘Shear Madness’ in Fort Myers, Fla. “We had a first date in New York City,” Byrne said.

Pandemic project “Singles in agriculture”

Have you worked together a lot?

BYRNE We never work together. I’m in musical theater and Tim is busy with plays, film and TV. Our paths for auditions rarely cross.

How was the work from home?

BYRNE Ken Kaissar and Amy Kaissar, the artistic directors of Bristol Riverside Theater, were looking for acting couples who would quarantine together. They found us by email and Ken found ‘Singles in Agriculture’. We read a Zoom cold and it was our rhythm, it was our energy. It felt right.

GOODWIN Usually you can leave work at work. But the space in which we sleep is also our rehearsal space and our performance space. We set up a nice lighting. But once the exercise is over, we break it all down.

BYRNE We literally open the blinds, we open the windows and close the door so it gets cold in the bedroom. Almost like starting over.

How they met On the set of ‘A Man Called Hawk’, a spinoff of ‘Spenser: For Hire.’ “Our first kiss was on film,” Sanders said.

Pandemic project The Apple family plays the pandemic trilogy

Have you worked together a lot?

SANDERS Countless readings and workshops. And some little movie stuff.

PLUNKET Because of the Rhinebeck panorama [Richard Nelson’s sequence of Rhinebeck-set plays], it feels like we’re working together all the time. We like to work together.

How was the work from home?

PLUNKET With the Zoom games we sit next to each other. This is the greatest confidence and playfulness because I know I look into Jay’s eyes, but I also look into the eyes of the character. Shoulder to shoulder, trapped in a tiny little box, there is no room to lapse it.

SANDERS I used to dream about this when I was a young actor and found someone who could be a partner and who could be on the same level. This is a very rare relationship that we are happy with. We appreciate it every day.

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