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McCall Children's Theater puts on virtual play

The Children's Theater in McCall is putting on a play differently, rehearsing on Zoom and doing their music and production virtually.

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MCCALL, Idaho — It's likely been a year since many of us have stepped foot in a theater for a movie, a play or a concert.

While that may not be that unusual, maybe you always preferred concerts from the comfort of your own couch. 

There's a large contingent of stage artists out there who have been cut off from scratching their creative itch. This includes big venues like the Morrison Center and much smaller stages of community playhouses.

The Children's Theater in McCall, however, wanted to do things differently. Shooting scenes in a snow-covered canyon is not how the theater planned to put on a show, but this is how musical theatre pivots during a pandemic.

Dawn Kolden has directed many plays, but never via Zoom.

"We're the first ones to ever do this, it's the first time ever," Elaina Gamble, an actor is Gretal! The Musical said. 

This is a new play out of a theatre company in Texas.

"It's about this young girl named Gretal," Gamble said. "Her mother dies of sickness at, I think, age eight." 

"They performed it once professionally, then one high school did it and then things shut down," Kolden said. "I knew it was important to create art, I couldn't not." 

The kids couldn't wait, either.

The McCall Children's Theater traditionally puts on two shows a year. This year, they had to rethink everything about plays in order to put on one.

The crew had to get special permission to take what is supposed to be a live performance down a new direction. This meant remote rehearsals and extra effort for the musical director.

"So I learned the music myself, I got the musical script. I recorded three different ways for each singer," Kolden said. "I recorded their accompaniment, I did it on garage band, and then I recorded the accompaniment and sent it to myself played it on my computer while I sang. Then they had all three versions and then they had to work very, very hard."

In this play, there's a stepmother, a step-sister, a witch in the woods, magic, and improbable quests, but none bigger than just piecing the dozen or so parts of the production.

The final product will be a single-scene shot on-site with the music recorded live and mixed together with pictures over Zoom.

The group had its first performance this weekend. Other theaters have had virtual shows during the pandemic, but this experience has been unique for a children's theater.

Tickets can be purchased here.

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