From left, performances by the Birmingham Children’s Theatre and Virgina Samford Theatre.
The Show Must Go On
BY LAUREN DOWDLE
If anyone can come up with creative solutions
during these unique times, it’s the imaginative
minds behind the local theatres. And the
ONLINE SHOWS
When schools moved to distance learning back
in March, the Birmingham Children’s Theatre shut
down all of its shows. Two of those shows, “The
Though they couldn’t open their doors, they
creating videos families could watch for free
channel, says Ashley Woods, managing director at
the Birmingham Children’s Theatre. “We knew
parents would have kids at home needing things
to do,” Woods says.
puppet theater, which both entertains and helps
children process some of what’s been going on in
the world. They have also started offering online
that are geared toward older students.
Their summer camps moved online, which
students’ doors. Children received all of the
supplies, activity sheets, and instructions for
camp, and the teachers held Zoom calls to
interact and share what they would be doing.
28 Bham Family August 2020
“We’re really enjoying doing those,” Woods says.
While times have been challenging, Woods says
that’s forced them to change how they do things
— which hasn’t been all bad. “We’re having to
dig deep and come up with really creative ideas
that probably wouldn’t have come to the table if
before was that we didn’t have to.”
on the road this fall, only performing in schools.
That keeps students from traveling in buses and
But beyond the safety element, this change also
allows schools to see their shows that might not
have been able to afford sending students before.
at that point,” Woods says. “We can bring in a
row.” Looking forward, they hope to work with
outdoor venues to provide performances for the
general public, as well as homeschoolers.
“Interactions with the arts help promote
empathy and the ability to deal with your own
different from yours,” Woods says. “It just
promotes understanding and also brings joy.
We’re all looking for moments of joy.”
TRANSFORMING THEATRE
Red Mountain Theatre Company (RMTC) also
cancelled their summer productions and went