TDM MixTape
A Covid-19 Pandemic Year Theatre Production
A Covid-19 Pandemic Year Theatre Production
Production Concept
During this pandemic year we were prohibited from allowing the general public into the school to view a theatrical production. For us, this meant that right from the start we were heading into a very different year. I asked the theatre company if they would be ok with doing something largely experimental as we were already going to be working within a very different set of rules, and they were onboard. At the start we didn't really know what our production would look like, but we were aiming for a live, outdoor, site-specific theatrical production to occur in June. In October, the inspiration for our production revealed itself. In another course I teach, (Innovation 10) we were working on a project that aimed to blend Hip-Hop and Rap musical stylings with an event in Canadian history in a very similar way to Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit Broadway musical; Hamilton. The Innovation 10 students did a really nice job writing their rhymes, and it was then that I felt we could take this idea and breath more life into it by turning it into a theatrical production.
With the students from that Innovation 10 class, working alongside students in our senior Script Development class, the moments that we decided were critical began to take shape. This however was a lengthy process as we were still trying to maintain as much physical distancing as possible. Still aiming to have an outdoor live event, our production/design students went to work on what a potential set might look like and how it could be built.
As the calendar got smaller, and we suddenly found ourselves in May, it became apparent that the Covid-19 restrictions were not going to be lifted to allow us an outdoor live theatrical production, so we decided to use film as the medium to capture our work and share it with the world. As we would be filming, we decided to scrap the idea of being outdoors, and instead use our Drama studio as our sound stage and we would create "music videos" out of the raps that were written. Our production/design student also pivoted and we changed up the designs from outdoor to indoor, and also began to take lighting into consideration.
Since we aren't charging a ticket fee, and as we didn't have a production in 2019/2020 due to the pandemic, we created this piece with almost zero budget. We pulled costumes from stock, used set pieces that we had, and the only money that was spent was a relatively small amount on props.
What you are seeing here is the final result of months of hard work and dedication to a project that we probably would not have even dreamed up if it weren't for the circumstances of the global pandemic. The Delview Drama Arts Company of 2020-2021 is proud to present to you the TDM MixTape (TDM for Thomas D'Arcy McGee & The Delview Musical)
With the students from that Innovation 10 class, working alongside students in our senior Script Development class, the moments that we decided were critical began to take shape. This however was a lengthy process as we were still trying to maintain as much physical distancing as possible. Still aiming to have an outdoor live event, our production/design students went to work on what a potential set might look like and how it could be built.
As the calendar got smaller, and we suddenly found ourselves in May, it became apparent that the Covid-19 restrictions were not going to be lifted to allow us an outdoor live theatrical production, so we decided to use film as the medium to capture our work and share it with the world. As we would be filming, we decided to scrap the idea of being outdoors, and instead use our Drama studio as our sound stage and we would create "music videos" out of the raps that were written. Our production/design student also pivoted and we changed up the designs from outdoor to indoor, and also began to take lighting into consideration.
Since we aren't charging a ticket fee, and as we didn't have a production in 2019/2020 due to the pandemic, we created this piece with almost zero budget. We pulled costumes from stock, used set pieces that we had, and the only money that was spent was a relatively small amount on props.
What you are seeing here is the final result of months of hard work and dedication to a project that we probably would not have even dreamed up if it weren't for the circumstances of the global pandemic. The Delview Drama Arts Company of 2020-2021 is proud to present to you the TDM MixTape (TDM for Thomas D'Arcy McGee & The Delview Musical)
Concept Images from the design process
Below are just a few of the wonderful images that were submitted as design concepts for our show when it was going to be an outdoor theatrical event.
Links
The following links are from People and/or organizations that were helpful to us through our process
Canadiana - The Canadiana Project is a web series and virtual hub for all things Canadian history. Their mandate is to encourage greater knowledge and appreciation of the country’s past through the creation and distribution of Canadian history edu-tainment that is free and accessible to all Canadians. Their goal is to help dispel the myth that Canadian history is dull, irrelevant, homogenous, or vacant in our modern world. They want to encourage discourse, reflection, and wonder. This video served as tremendous inspiration to our piece.
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Dr. Chris Emdin - Dr. Christopher Emdin is an educator, author, public speaker, and science advocate. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of the Science Education program and Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. In this episode of Literacy at Work, Dr. Emdin shares his lesson on how to write a rap.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda - This clip is from the PBS Documentary "Hamilton's America." Lin-Manuel discusses the concept for wrestling history to the stage.
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Ron Chernow - This clip is from Ron Chernow, the author of the Alexander Hamilton book that inspired Lin-Manuel to write his hit Broadway musical. This short clip discusses artistic licence in writing a creative piece of non-fiction.
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Innovation 10 class of 2020/2021 - The class that originated this project as a writing assignment. Innovation 10 is a course that combines learning targets from Science, Social Studies, and English, in a project-based course that unifies academic disciplines in a concept based, competency-driven program that results in students connecting and applying their learning to real-world projects for an authentic audience.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!!