COVID-19 has stopped theatre productions altogether but it hasn’t stopped Kelowna-based New Vintage Theatre from putting on a filmed play performance.
The small cast has been connecting online via Zoom and other means to practise the play, said Artistic Director Bonnie Gratz.
“In the recent weeks since we’ve been allowed to move into phase 2, we’ve been able to meet in a socially distanced way, in person, in our studio because it’s a very small play.”
The Pink Unicorn is a one-person play about a conservative mother’s struggle to grasp the gender reality of her child.
“The effort that Kendra Hesketh (lead) has gone to in creating not just one but 10 different characters and enacting them out over an hour and 20 minutes is like an Olympic effort in acting terms. So, we wanted the art form to reflect the amount of work that’s gone into this performance so we decided we wanted to find an outside location that fit the play that could be filmed,” said Gratz.
Theatre folk are very resilient and are used to adapting to their environment, said Gratz.
“For instance, when it’s fire season, when we have something happen where one of our actors gets ill. The sand always seems to be shifting underneath arts organizations and we are constantly made to deal with whatever life throws at us.”
Tickets are available for $10 on newvintage.ca and proceeds help support local artists to keep doing what they love in the Okanagan.
The Pink Unicorn runs from June 3rd to 5th online at 7p.m., followed by a post-show Zoom chat with the cast, director and crew.