The pandemic has changed the way Fullerton College’s Theatre Arts department is operating this fall semester.

The New Plays Workshop is allowing Professor Candice Clasby, Professor Bill Mittler, and the rest of the department to follow social distancing guidelines with virtual learning.

“We’re mainly looking for actors and it can be anybody, even if you’ve never acted before. We’re in collaboration with the playwriting class,” said Clasby. Professor Clasby explained theatre as a path to find your own self-confidence and learning how to keep yourself ground in this critical time.

With this workshop, students will be able to create new plays with a new twist.

“Now we’re transitioning in that to a virtual performance space. So, it’s gonna be really fun,” said Clasby.

Students who are interested in being a part of the New Plays Workshop would need to be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will also be additional hours for evening virtual rehearsals and performance dates.

“The class is really just a rehearsal space,” Clasby stated.

Professor Clasby and the department will be accepting pre-tape auditions for Theatre Arts classes 177 and 277 starting on Tuesday, October 6. Callbacks will begin on October 15 on Zoom. Social media will be a tool that Professor Clasby and the Theatre Arts faculty are taking advantage of to inform students.

The pre-taped auditions consist of a minute video monologue of yourself. Once completed, students can send the audition tapes to Professor Clasby.

“We’re going to have a release of character descriptions play descriptions, and that can actually help them gear their audition towards the specific place. We post everything on Instagram and Facebook,” said Clasby.

The class will be a part of the playwriting class and will make a final product on the virtual stage. Currently, students are writing 10-minute plays for the semester.

Instead of occupying the Bronwyn Dodson Theatre or the Campus Theatre, the goal is to produce three virtual shows or 16 playwrights at the end of the fall semester. The performance dates will be announced later in the semester.

If students need any more information about the Theatre Arts department, contact Professor Clasby directly at [email protected]. Follow the Fullerton College Theatre Arts department on Instagram and Facebook.

The Theatre Arts department is allowing students to have fun and connect with actors, directors, and playwrights in this virtual world.