One acts must go on

“All the world’s a stage.”

So says Jaques in William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, that phrase has taken on new meaning.

Jay County High School’s thespians don’t have access to their stage. Schools have been closed since March 13. But that’s not stopping them from performing.

“It has been quite the challenge,” said JCHS theatre and speech teacher Carol Gebert.

For the school’s thespians, the end of the year typically features an evening of one-act plays. Sometimes they’re written by the students. It’s a chance to gain experience in writing, directing and performing.

They’re still getting that opportunity this year, though in a different format.

Rather than performing them all in a single night at school, the thespians will instead release recordings of a one-act play every Friday in May.

“We have to keep them active and creating and we have to keep them engaged with one another,” said Gebert, noting that they’ll be using the videos to raise funds through the Brees Dream Foundation’s Super Service Challenge.

“So Google Meet has really helped with that.”

Even without school, the thespians have continued to meet every Thursday.

During one of those online get-togethers, they talked with Ray Palasz and Jeremy Leazenby-Bruce, presidents of Indiana Thespians, about what other school groups are doing in place of their spring shows. And last week, the thespians held their induction ceremony.

When teaching in the classroom, Gebert likes to bring in visiting experts when she can. Going online has only expanded that.

“I also have a number of professional friends who aren’t working right now,” she said.

Her theatre class visited remotely with Tony Brinkley, scenic designer for Phoenix College. He shared his experience with having shows for which he was designing and creating sets shut down during the pandemic. Jay County students were in the same situation as they were in the midst of building the set for the school’s production of the musical “Pajama Game” when everything shut down.

The students have also used online resources to focus on concepts, such as the styles of Tim Burton, Julie Taymor and Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton.”

Meanwhile, Gebert’s speech class had an online visit with professional storyteller Mike Lockett. He helped students work on their delivery.

The move to e-learning for the final two-plus months of the school year has also led to some changes in class procedures.

Some students, for instance, have been able to take advantage of one-on-one Google Meet sessions rather than meeting in groups.

And one student contacted Gebert to ask if she could work ahead because she would not have internet access the following week.

“So I was able to put that up for everybody,” said Gebert. “So the kids are kind of working at their own pace. Most of them are doing a great job.”