For Niles West High School junior Olivia Benitez, one of the hardest parts of directing a play online was preparing to present the final performance on camera, instead of in person.
“Having everything in a traditional play style and doing it online and sort of creating a movie are two completely different formats,” said Benitez, 17, of Skokie. “Using our knowledge of theater and transferring it to film required a lot of creativity, especially because you could not film two people in the same place.”
Benitez addressed the issue by choosing to direct “Please Stay Here,” a play with just two characters, with one on screen and one as a voiceover.
“I didn’t have to cut between two different areas,” she said. “It looks a lot cleaner in my opinion. It feels more real because it’s in the same place the entire time.”
Benitez is one of 15 student directors at Niles West whose works will stream during the 2020 Festival of One-Act Plays from Dec. 11-13. Complimentary tickets are available at nileswesttheatre.org.
Niles West directing teacher Sam Rosenfeld said one of the biggest challenges for students was creating moments of relationship building between actors when they were not in the same room.
Students chose some creative solutions such as taping live performances on Zoom from multiple locations, carefully rehearsing reactions and then capturing them on camera, and utilizing editing and acting skills to show physical intimacy, Rosenfeld said.
“In some cases, kissing and hand holding were integral to a scene,” he said. “A lot of students used different theater techniques. For example, they showed eye contact through the screen and put their hands up to give a sense of physical intimacy.”
As of Dec. 4, Rosenfeld had only reviewed about three-quarters of his students’ final productions, but he was impressed, he said.
“It really looks amazing,” Rosenfeld said. “They did things I would never have thought of. They used green screen technology. They filmed outside to give them space not limited to a bedroom or office space. One student used LED lights to show fireworks off the actors’ faces. They rose to the challenge.”
Rosenfeld gave students the option this year of presenting the biannual Festival of One-Act Plays or co-directing one large production together, Benitez said.
“I was in the cast for another student’s one-act play as a freshman,” she said. “We were all looking forward to doing one-act plays and having something completely on our own. That’s what motivated most of us to do this.”
Niles West has presented the one-act festival since before Rosenfeld graduated from neighboring Niles North High School in 2014, he said.
“They were really committed to continuing to do that,” Rosenfeld said. “It was the appeal for many for signing up for the directing class. We talked and strategized a lot and made it work.”
“Please Stay Here,” presented in special arrangement with its writer, Cassandra Rose, is about a man, David, who is considering committing suicide until he gets a call from Ginny at a suicide hotline, Benitez said.
“The concept of it being an outgoing call is a reminder for people to check in with friends and family,” she said. “I felt like there was a big message behind it. I liked it because of that. I wanted a play that was sweet and fun to create, but also had meaning to it — something that can help the world when they see it.”
Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter.
