CLC to stage virtual 'The Emperor's New Clothes'
Hans Christian Anderson's comedic children's fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" is coming to Zoom. This production, adapted by Max Bush for young audiences, is a free online presentation through the College of Lake County's theater department.
Director Alicia Hall is working with four CLC student actors to embrace the virtual world to tell the story of a clever mother and son disguising themselves as weavers to convince a vain Emperor they can make him a beautiful and magical suit of new clothes.
They explain the clothes are invisible and can only be seen by those who are clever and capable. Everyone in the kingdom pretends they can see the clothes, until one child dares to speak the truth.
Actors, costumers and set designers are adapting to meet the challenge of presenting virtual theater performances during the pandemic.
"Our student actors have to engage their imaginations a lot more than they normally would to create their fellow actors in their shared space," Hall said. "Green screen acting is some of the hardest work they'll ever have to do."
Hall describes how hard everyone is working to create an impactful experience for the young audience who will tune in to watch.
"So many times where I forget that we're not all in the same room - that's what we're going for."
Costume designer Sally Gill said that the crew is doing very interesting things with technology for this play.
"Sets are designed with wonderful drawings projected on green screens, so we will see actors in full costume, both close to the camera and far enough away so you can see them from head to toe," she said.
Set designer Tracie Folger said working with green screens has been a learning process.
"I spent a lot of time experimenting with building screens at home and trying to design the screens so they can be easily transported and set up in student homes, where students may or may not have tools to put things together. This play seemed like the perfect show to create green screen scenery, because I can make the set look like pages of a children's book."
CLC student Helen Murphy from Highland Park plays the Captain and says the lack of a live audience has also made a big difference.
"As an actor, you feed off the energy you get from the audience and their reactions, so this whole acting on Zoom experience makes me really appreciate having a live audience."
"Theater provides people with a source of entertainment, challenges their thinking, and helps them escape into a different world," Murphy said. "I like being able to provide that escape for people, especially during a time like the one we're living in right now."
Performance dates for "The Emperor's New Clothes" are at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2; 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4. Register in advance online at www.clcillinois.edu/events/the-arts-events.
This performance is produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company Inc. of Woodstock.