Theatre During the Pandemic: Fafalo!
I posted an audition notice on Facebook for a live play to be done in the summer of 2021. No sooner had I done that, someone who I did not know commented that it was too soon to do a live play.
I did not have the heart to tell him that we had already done a live play in the summer of 2020.
In the summer of 2020, while the pandemic raged, Camden Shakespeare Festival in Camden, Maine was one of the only theatres (on the planet) to perform a live show for a live audience. And safely.
Months earlier, it seemed that such a thing would be impossible.
In March of 2020 (you know the drill), all concert venues canceled performances, professional sports closed down, schools emptied out, Broadway went dark – and hundreds of performances evaporated in the state of Maine leaving a huge vacuum in an otherwise prolific arts landscape.
How did a small theatre manage to accomplish what very few other companies in the country could do?
This next part will not only sound familiar, but cliché.
Before the shutdown, we were excited to receive a grant to offer theatre workshops to kids. But then the pandemic escalated, and things went south. We had planned to do A Winter’s Tale and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. However, in May, after hanging on to desperate hope that things might proceed as planned, we cancelled the workshops and the Shakespeare season. I emailed all of the actors who we had hired to tell them the bad news. No season. No plays. No actors. And it seemed that that, as they say, was that.
However, my lizard brain would not let go of the idea that some kind of performance might be possible.
Then, some glimmers of light began to peek through the cracks in the brick wall. Firstly, the Governor Mills had declared that outdoor performances could take place as long as the audience was limited to 50, and everyone remained six feet apart.
Secondly, after our two other regular venues said politely (but firmly) that they were unavailable, the Camden Public Library agreed to let us perform in their amphitheater and to sponsor the event.
And lastly, the foundation grantors generously allowed us to keep the grant and use it however we saw fit.
But to do what?
Jon Monastero and John Achorn in the 2008 production of FAFALO!
Although our Shakespeare plays couldn’t be staged in a socially-distant way, there was a show that we could do: FAFALO! It was an original Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble comedy about an idiot who is accidentally crowned king, done in a Commedia-inspired style. We had first produced it in 2008, and again in 2011, and it only needed six actors. (Our planned season required 20). It featured hand-carved wooden character masks from Balinese artist Nyoman Setiawan, costumes by Suzanne Wakefield and puppets by Libby Marcus. We already had the props and costumes. But most importantly, the show was perfect for this situation: none of the actors needed to be close to each other in the playing of it.
So, if it could happen, perhaps it would happen.
Camden Amphitheatre
In a normal year, because all of the summer theatres compete for the same pool of actors, we are never able to cast our season completely locally. And normally, half our our actors come in from out of state. But now, it seemed that just about every local actor was available. This was crucial, because the quarantine rules prevented us bringing in anyone from out of state.
It would make a more dramatic story if we had trouble casting the play. But we didn’t. Every actor that we talked to was eager to do a show.
The performers we cast were willing to do anything to make the show happen. We established a list of protocols, which would allow for safe rehearsals. We would only rehearse outside, and if it rained we wouldn’t rehearse; we would sanitize everything we handled; and we would stay eight feet away from each other. We also made performance protocols, which would allow for safe audience management on show days.
Emily Grotz, Laura MacLean, Jared Mongeau, me, and Nolan Ellsworth (and two goats in the background) at an early rehearsal.
The cast gathered on a hot afternoon for the first rehearsal to discuss everything. And yes, we talked about our apprehensions and fears about rehearsing a play in such extraordinary circumstances. A lot could happen between mid-June and July 25 when we were slated to open. One of us could develop symptoms or have to quarantine. (We had no understudies.) The state might increase the restrictions or cancel performances all together. But we believed in what we were doing, and took a lot on faith.
Nolan Ellsworth practicing with a giant puppet, designed and built by Maine puppeteer Libby Marcus.
Again, I’d like to say that the rehearsals were difficult or dramatic in some way, because that would make a juicier story. (Were there zombies?) But no. The rehearsals all went smoothly and they were even fun. They even seemed normal.
Jared Mongeau, Hannah Daly and Emily Grotz
The only nail-biting was in the few weeks approaching our opening night. Would anyone show up? We were not used to seeing people at all, outside of our cautious, weekly trips to the supermarket.
Jared Mongeau and Nolan Ellsworth. / Photo by Scott Anthony Smith
But as it turned out, we sold out every show. People were desperate to see live performance. We put down yellow ropes for the audience to designate where people could sit and where they could not sit, to ensure that everyone was spaced out in a safe way.
Jared Mongeau and Puppets designed and built by Libby Marcus.
Photo by Scott Anthony Smith
Also, we were able to tour the show to locations in rural Maine which did not have performances. We were particularly proud to do the show in Monson, as there is no resident theatre in that town, even in a normal year. One woman was so taken by the show in Camden that she drove two hours to Monson to see it again.
Emily Grotz / Photo by Scott Anthony Smith
Things worked out, mostly because we had been producing outdoor plays for the last ten years. And that experience made it much easier to adjust for the pandemic guidelines.
Andrew Elijah Edwards and Jared Mongeau. / Photo by Scott Anthony Smith
All of our audiences we grateful for the experience; I have never felt such a sense of community doing a show. And after every performance people came up to us to say how much it meant to them to see live theatre. Also, kids were at every show and for some it was their first play. That was special to us. And the cast spoke to them afterwards (masked, six feet away), answering their lively questions, and demonstrating the props and puppets.
Dana Legawiec and “The Beast.” / Photo by Scott Anthony Smith
The Bangor Daily News said:
“FAFALO!” demonstrates why live theater is so important in our lives, especially after being deprived of it for so long to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It captures all the electricity and excitement of live performance that we’ve been missing for so long.”
FAFALO! cast, 2020 / Photo by Scott Anthony Smith