Virtual Theater Comes To Clintonville

CLINTONVILLE, WI – The saying is the show must go on, and it can’t be any more true in 2020. Instead of canceling stage productions, Phoenix Players in Clintonville is bringing a show to your home.

“We can’t see the audience so that is different for us, so it kind of like a mini tv show, “said Director and actor Brandon Byng.

The group is putting on one performance of the comedy “Replacing Linda.” The show will be done on a computer Zoom call with each actor having their own square on the screen.

“The play is written to be like you are on a video conference call, so it fits.”

The show is centered around co-owners of a company and they just lost their long time employee Linda who just quit. They have to interview for the position to replace Linda.

Byng says it is a comedy that runs about a half-hour long and says it is simple show with no set or costume changes. Most of the show features video interviews.

In addition, the actors will not even need to leave their own homes to put on the show.

“I am in my bedroom live and Mary-Beth is in her living room so it is really different,” he said. “I have been doing theater for 20 or more years and it is fun to be able to use different technologies but we sure do miss interacting with each other in person and we will for sure miss the audience.

Byng said he chose the show because it would fit the virtual format that they were looking for.

“We wanted to do something that makes sense to be online given the current situation that we are in,” Byng said. “Everyone has been on Zoom meetings for work so they can relate.”

Memorizing lines is usually one of the biggest obstacles for actors, but Byng says this time there was more technical issues to work with as they were dealing with multiple sets.

“There was a little bit of a learning curve for technology for mics and lighting and things like that because everybody’s home is different.”

Byng said actors also had to learn when to turn their cameras off and on and make sure typical home distractions do not occur.

“We have lots of conversations about taking the phones off the hook and making sure kids and dogs are not running around.”

He says there is also the unexpected.

“Internet could go out, or people might show up to your house that you were not expecting, but it is fun.”

Tickets for “Replacing Linda” can be found at www.phoenixplayerswi.com.

Tickets are just $5.00 per household and will be sold up until the start of the show.

“You buy your ticket online and a passcode comes to your email to see the performance.”

Byng says he was happy that they were able to find a way to put some kind of show together during these times and said they have plans to do some kind of virtual holiday performance.

“We did not want to just shutdown and we hope it will be a little distraction from the everyday stresses that people are going through, he said. “We want to keep our name out there and keep entertaining.

The show is Sunday October 11 at 1:00pm.

Sunday, October 11, 2020 @ 1:00p
LIVE Streamed to Your Home

EPLACING LINDA: A Virtual Play

Megan is a nervous mess. Their best administrative assistant has quit just as the business she co-owns with her partner Wade is expanding. Desperate to fill the big shoes left behind by Linda, Megan and Wade conduct a series of virtual interviews for her replacement, in front of the company’s board of directors … the audience. Even though the first two tech-savvy candidates seem to know their way around social media and technology just fine, the twenty-somethings don’t seem big on work ethic, common sense, or common courtesy. And Wade isn’t much help either, seeming most concerned about replacing Linda’s delicious cookies that she used to share with the office.