You didn't think a pandemic would stop Oakville's annual holiday pantomime show, did you? Actually - a lot of people thought not. The BurlOak Theatre Group's new show Sleeping Beauty has actually been so popular that they've added an extra live stream performance - and it's happening tomorrow afternoon on Christmas Eve.
The BurlOak Theatre Group, who normally stages the annual holiday show at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, moved the project online this year so the live event could be streamed into audiences' homes. The plan had always been to do Sleeping Beauty - but now the show has been filmed instead of being presented live.
It's true that live theatres in Oakville (and around Ontario, Canada, and the world, for that matter) have been closed since mid-March when the pandemic first began. But even under Halton's current Red-Control Level and the upcoming Ontario-wide shutdown, the provincial law permits shows to be filmed with limited cast and crew to be either live-streamed or pre-recorded and watched by a digital audience.
"There have just been so many disappointments this year," says Tim Cadney, co-author of the pantomime (and longtime cast member of them.) "For a lot of families in Oakville this is an annual tradition and we didn't want it to be one more thing crossed off the list."
"It was important to us," he continues, "this year more than ever, that we were able to provide some laughter and silliness during the holidays." And that's exactly what they've done.
The show (in this theatre reviewer's opinion) is a heckuva lot of fun. And with tickets starting at $10 (with bonus packages priced up to $50) it's more affordable than most forms of digital entertainment available this holiday season.
Moving a pantomime online, however, was no easy task. This musical comedy shows relies heavily on live audiences - which is why digital participation during the show was always going to be critical.
Chantal Forde, co-author and director of Sleeping Beauty and BurlOak veteran, says, "Apart from rewriting the script a few times adapting to COVID-19 restrictions and safety and comfort levels, the biggest challenges were finding ways to carry the very rambunctious energy of a pantomime onto (and through) the screen."
"Audience interaction," says Forde, "breaking the fourth wall, and trying to figure out what staging techniques would transfer from stage and which wouldn't" was the secret to bringing the live experience into people's homes.
"The hardest part was trying to convey/imagine the final product. The actors were either at home on zoom or in the studio in front of a green screen alone."
And yet, the final show was masterfully edited by Mikelle Virey (director of Oakville's One Pandemic Day earlier this summer) to look like one seamless show, even though the actors weren't all together. "The coolest part was seeing it actually work," says Forde. "Most of the cast had absolutely no idea what to expect!"
But the most rewarding part was bringing Oakville talent and entertainment to a wider stage. when the show moved online, the audience reach suddenly grew across both Canada and the world.
"We had people joining from Montreal, Vancouver, Nunavut, England, the USA and more," says Cadney. "We were able to interact with people from all over which was so exciting."
Now Oakville audiences have one more opportunity to see BurlOak Theatre Group's Sleeping Beauty live online. Better still, they have a chance to experience the adaptation of an Oakville tradition to make the season a little brighter.
If you can't see the final live stream tomorrow afternoon, tickets are also available to watch a pre-recorded show on demand until Thursday, December 31, 2020. Tickets and access to BurlOak Theatre Group's Sleeping Beauty are available here.