Journey Around My Bedroom
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Produced via Zoom by New Ohio Theatre
Theatre for Young Minds December 26, 2020 - January 10, 2021 By: Dianne Nora Directed by: Jaclyn Biskup Production Stage Manager: Nat Kelley DiMario Songs and Music by: Hyeyoung Kim Scenic & Puppet Design by: Myra Reavis Sound Design by: Tae Jong Park Xavi is a little girl with a big imagination, stranded alone in her bedroom. When a mysterious visitor drops by looking for a missing part to fix his magical flying machine, they explore the hidden depths of her room and use the power of imagination to turn her isolation into an epic indoor voyage.
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Journey Around My Bedroom was my first venture into virtual theatre, and it was certainly... an experience. This was my third time working with New Ohio Theatre, and we were blessed with a simply outstanding team of artists and collaborators. As we know all too well, being stuck inside your home during a pandemic can make even the most exciting undertakings seem dreary. But as Xavi teaches us on her room-traveling voyage, we have the opportunity to create wondrous things from even the most ordinary. Working in Zoom required a lot of new skills, acquired on top of what I had previously assumed was sufficient technical prowess. But despite the learning curve of participants and attendees, spotlighting versus pinning, and making artistic decisions about whether or not to use the camera on/off function or simply covering the webcam, Journey was a chance to stretch my usual stage management muscles...... an opportunity I hadn't been granted since Covid hit. And it felt good to create again, to be an artist alongside other artists, even if we were only seeing each other through a screen. And it was my first time doing toy theatre! I had forgotten just how much I love puppets. Add in original music and audience participation and it almost felt like we were had journeyed into a theatre after all.
Here, you can view a brief highlight reel of the stage management perspective of Journey Around My Bedroom.