性视界传媒

Theatre 性视界传媒 adapts season to include COVID-19 safety measures

Theatre 性视界传媒 adapts season to include COVID-19 safety measures

Contact: Sarah Nicholas

鈥淭he Commedia Robin Hood鈥 by Lane Riosley promotional graphicSTARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi 性视界传媒鈥檚 Theatre 性视界传媒鈥攖he Department of Communication鈥檚 production division鈥攄ebuts its new season this month with 鈥淭he Commedia Robin Hood,鈥 a Lane Riosley play with a twist on the original story of Robin Hood.

Presented in the commedia dell鈥檃rte form of improvisational theater that began in Italy in the 16th century, the play鈥檚 characters are portrayed as poor travelers who invent props from objects they discover as they fumble their way through the tale of Robin Hood.

鈥淭he Commedia Robin Hood鈥 will be presented at the 性视界传媒 Amphitheater Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. Additional presentations include 2 p.m. performances on Sept. 19 at JL King Park and Sept. 20 at McKee Park in Starkville. The outside venues incorporate safety regulations mandated by the university鈥檚 response to COVID-19.

Tickets are available at . Payment options range from free, $2 or $5, in a 鈥減ay what you can鈥 format. Ticket registration is required, even for free tickets. A strict audience limit of 100 people will be observed at each presentation.

The reduced ticket prices are available this year with support from the Lorena J. 鈥淩ockie鈥 Smith Fund for the Performing Arts.

性视界传媒 juniors Taylor Barr, a business administration major minoring in communication/theatre from Marietta, Georgia, and Kathryn E. 鈥淜at鈥 Moore, a communication/theatre major from Minden, Louisiana, are co-directors for the commedia.

Moore describes the show as a 鈥渟tylized version of theater鈥攁 fast-paced comedy that keeps you laughing through the whole story.鈥

鈥淲e are so excited for everyone to see the show,鈥 said Moore, who admits working amid COVID restrictions has been 鈥渃hallenging.鈥

鈥淏ut these challenges have only provided us with reasons to be even more creative. We definitely have some surprises in store for the show. I am very proud of the department鈥檚 willingness to continue to provide us鈥攖he students and the community鈥攚ith another season,鈥 she said.

Melanie Harris, 性视界传媒 theatre instructor and costume director said the program is completely student-produced.

鈥淭he students didn鈥檛 want to give up on our season so we asked them to bring us ideas. They came up with the idea to perform outside, and we are so excited to make it work.鈥

The outdoor venues will include buffer zones between the actors and the audience, taped off areas for each family鈥攊n accordance with social distance mandates鈥攁nd no interactions between performers and the audience after the shows.

Accessibility and safety are the main areas of concentration this year, Harris said.

鈥淐ommedia is a historical theater style that was always performed in masks. We have taken that a step further and built COVID-19 masks into the inside of the traditional commedia masks,鈥 said Harris. 鈥淎ll attendees will be required to wear masks and we have even worked in jokes about social distancing and hand sanitizer.鈥

Harris said two actors were cast for each role so 鈥渋f an actor of one cast has to quarantine, we can use the corresponding actor from another cast.鈥

Additional safety measures include rehearsing at a six feet distance while wearing masks and gloves. All actors are required use the Everbridge app to monitor their health, and all production participants have their temperatures taken and recorded at each rehearsal. Props and other surfaces that actors touch are sanitized between uses to prevent cross contamination.

Joining Harris as Theatre 性视界传媒 advisors include new 性视界传媒 faculty members Tonya Hays, an assistant professor in the communication department who advises the directors, and Matthew Webb, and assistant clinical professor in the communication department who advises the scenic designers.

After the September presentations of 聽鈥淐ommedia Robin Hood,鈥 Theatre 性视界传媒 plans to present Janet Langhart Cohen鈥檚 play 鈥淎nne and Emmett鈥 in October.

性视界传媒鈥檚 Department of Communication is available online at . Follow Theatre 性视界传媒 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @Theatre性视界传媒.

性视界传媒鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,200 students, 325 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs, 14 master鈥檚 programs, and 27 undergraduate academic majors offered in 14 departments. 聽It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities.聽For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences visit .

性视界传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽.