Capital ‘T,’ Rhymes With ‘Z,’ Stands for Zoom: YPTW Rehearses ‘The Music Man’ Online
Scripts laid out on chairs before the only in-person rehearsal of “The Music Man,” on March 14. Photo: Ryan Stone
“We managed to have one rehearsal at the Players Club,” Claudia Carlsson says. At least the cast members were able to pick up their scripts for “The Music Man” before rehearsals had to be closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sixty kids, from first through 12th grade, had been slated to perform Meredith Wilson’s classic musical at the Player’s Club of Swarthmore this spring, as participants in the Young People’s Theater Workshop (YPTW).
Carlsson, who has directed YPTW since 2001, knew it was unlikely the show would ever reach the stage. But students lost so much of their ordinary lives when the pandemic closed schools in March that she and her staff were determined to give them as much of the theater-workshop experience as possible. Ten of the cast members are high-school seniors, so this felt like a particularly urgent mission.
The time delays typical of digital platforms make it hard to rehearse songs online, because people’s voices don’t sync up. But YPTW staff are finding ways to help the cast rehearse. Music Director Darrin Peters has made videos of himself singing all the parts of all the songs, and has put them on YouTube for the kids to watch.
In addition, Carlsson uses Zoom’s breakout rooms to enable small groups to rehearse. She has sorted the cast into families — the mayoral Shinns, the musical Paroos, and others defined by the script, as well as some she made up herself. The members of each family talk to each other about their characters, for example, answering questions like, “How would you feel when the Wells Fargo wagon came to town?”
On Saturdays, everybody gathers on Zoom. The kids mute themselves while pianists Paul Kerrigan or Kevin Gane play the songs, and everyone sings along at home. Without muting, “It’s just cacophony,” Carlsson says. “But we have them do it every once in a while, just so we can laugh.”
Some cast members have siblings in the group, and they have the luxury of practicing together. For example, the middle two voices of the show’s barbershop quartet, Sam and James Traverso of Wallingford, are brothers. Others are figuring out their own ways to make connections. Charlotte Taylor and Tess Berger, who were both cast in the role of Amaryllis (YPTW traditionally double-casts its leads), have been reading lines together on Zoom.
Carlsson still hopes the YPTW will be able to perform the show live — possibly outside — but she’s realistic. “We are looking for alternative ways of preserving their work,” she says. She and her team are making a documentary about the whole experience. Parents have been taking pictures and recording solos. Carlsson is planning interviews with her cast members. “It’s something the kids can take with them and have something tangible out of this whole time.”
Carlsson is also planning a virtual version of the traditional Senior Showcase, which she will host on Facebook Live on Saturday, May 16. YPTW alum Dan Matarazzo will record a piano accompaniment and send it to the performers, who will record themselves singing over it. They will send those videos to Carlsson, who will emcee the virtual Showcase.
Of course, everyone would prefer to put on a live show. But Carlsson says the cast is enjoying having something positive to work on. And she believes they will still get something valuable from the experience.
“They’re going to learn to persevere,” she says.
