In Early May, the Moorpark College Theatre Arts department performed their spring production of “The Impostures of Scapin.” This play was performed in two different mediums; one was filmed virtually via Zoom while the other was filmed in person and broadcasted via Zoom.

This production of “The Impostures of Scapin” was produced by the Moorpark College Theatre Arts Department Chair, John Loprieno.

Loprieno stated, “THA M10A-D this semester was a multifaceted production class that included a fully realized production in an outdoor setting on campus with 2 full Zoom productions recorded online.”

The on-campus filmed production premiered on Friday May 7 at 7:30 p.m. while the prerecorded Zoom productions were uploaded to YouTube.

The on-campus production was required to follow all COVID-19 social distancing requirements and restrictions. The actors were required to stand six feet apart at all times, wear two masks and film in segments to keep the number of students on campus down to a minimum.

The actors incorporated the masks into their costumes; one medical mask and one Commedia del ‘Arte mask was worn. Each student was recorded on separate tracks using their own individual microphones. For backgrounds and scenery, they built a transportable stage wagon for the theatrical scenery.

“The Zoom production created its own set of challenges for performers that range from modulating their performances for a camera that was directly in front of them to struggling with the internet connections that students had in their homes,” Loprieno stated.

The actors participating in the Zoom production had the struggle of having to perform and portray their characters through the computer screen. They were able to perform without masks because they were in the comfort of their own homes but were unable to feed off of one another’s energy as one does in person.

The actors had to learn how to work with props as well as learn movement phrases.

Dance Faculty, Beth Megill and Moorpark College dancer, Jasmine Glavey, choreographed the movements for the production.

Megill explained, “I used my training and skills as a movement analyst to coach the students to feel their characters from the inside out. I challenged them in warm ups before rehearsals began to broaden their range of motion and their expressive energies to ensure a strong performance.”

Since the actors wore masks, half of their facial expressions were covered. The use of movement allowed the actors to loosen up and fully express within their performance through the uses of their energies.

Glavey expressed, “Really fun to work with you all this semester and thank you for always being open to the new and goofy stuff Beth and I threw at you all.”