Studio 58’s Theatre: The Play pokes fun at the unstable world of make-believe
Writers-directors Ryan Beil and Mark Chavez find hope for local theatre in working with Langara students on their wacky, absurdist play
Ryan Beil wrote and directed Theatre: The Play with Mark Chavez.
Studio 58’s Theatre: The Play streams on YouTube for free until December 6.
FOR SO MANY creatives, COVID-19 has meant pulling the pandemic pivot—having to reimagine live performances for the digital realm. For Ryan Beil and Mark Chavez, writers-directors of Studio 58’s Theatre: The Play, developing a piece specifically for online viewing was always part of the plan.
Performed by students in their fourth term at Langara’s professional theatre training program, the play centres on the impending closure of the Nearlake Theatre Festival & Bar & Grill. The only thing that can save it is a hit. Dudley, the fest’s artistic director, goes to great lengths to stage Macbeth, War on Christmas—which he’s certain will be a masterpiece.
Beil says he and Chavez wanted to push the boundaries of what it means to produce a play online, their goal being to make the experience for people watching at home as electric as if they were attending in person. Beil admits it’s somewhat heartbreaking that the show won’t get live, in-person laughs. Yet while the process hasn’t been a breeze, especially in light of the latest public-health orders, Beil says, it’s also been joyful and affirming.
“We started rehearsals with our ensemble at Studio 58 on Halloween weekend, but Mark and I have been tinkering on the script for a few years now,” Beil tells Stir. “The recent restrictions impacted us in two ways. We had planned to perform this in front of a very small live audience of students and faculty over the course of a week, filming one of those performances, and we had hoped that the performers could remove their masks. We’ve pivoted so that the project is now solely online after we wrapped an entire day of shooting. The performers are masked and distanced the entire time.
“Creating theatre among the challenges of this pandemic was always part of the experiment,” he says. “Our cast and crew are in good spirits in spite of all the punches we've had to roll with. From quarantined actors to the dreaded zoom rehearsal, everyone has been so great, consistently rising to many occasions. The fact that we got to make anything at all in the face of so many obstacles feels like a huge triumph—the fact that we finished and have something to share. I am very hopeful about the future of theatre here in Vancouver, especially after working with the team of young artists I just had the pleasure of working with on this project.”
In addition to performing, the students did the set, costume, and lighting design, with mentorship by Shizuka Kai and Alan Brodie.
Absurd, ridiculous, and wacky are some of the words Beil uses to describe the tone of Theatre: The Play. Silly but with heart, it’s a tribute to as well as a middle finger to the world of theatre, asking: Why would anyone work in this unforgiving and unstable field of make believe?”. This is a question that has taken on new and greater resonance for Beil given everything that the world has experienced over the last 10 months.
“A big part of my life for the past 10-plus years has been a weekly comedy show called The Sunday Service,” he says. “One of our big sticking points is that we never cancelled a show—until this year. It’s hard not to reflect on your life choices in a critical way when such a big part of your existence is taken away. I feel for all the live performers who have had that taken away.
“Theatre is important now for the same reasons it always has been: it brings people together, whether that's in the same room or virtually across many,” he says. “It has the ability to reach out and spark important conversations, make people laugh, and provide comfort in the dark.”
Illustration by Emily Cooper
More information is at studio58.ca/.
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