V126 Voyages and Voices
Hear from the Folks
“It's definitely a lot harder to coordinate things with other artists, but since this is a new venture with the Varsity Show it's been a really fun and engaging experience!! Having an outlet like art is so important especially over quarantine when my ideas are overflowing!”
— Connie Tran CC ‘24, “Scribble Squad” Artist
“I am quite excited to be a part of this production, as it is my first time being a part of the Varsity Show team and, actually, my first Columbia-affiliated show. Though it may seem the virtual aspect of this year's show is limiting factor, I think that this shift is going to spark so much creative innovation and ultimately produce something that is completely original and fabulous. It's pretty cool to be a part of something that is going to make history.”
— Anna Kasun CC24’, Editing Team
“I love seeing everyone's faces and knowing that they're all across the world and doing their own thing but we can all come together for this!”
— Alexis Buncich CC ‘21 , Publicity Team
Q&A with Jackie Chu BC 22’, Cast
how does the change in format affect your creation process?
Learned how to efficiently source household objects to create a secure tripod for filming scenes (have had to become very innovative in my design and construction)
Something you love/dread about going online?
I'm currently in London and everyone else is in the US so timezones have been tricky to deal with but it's always lovely finishing a long day of classes with a nice rehearsal where you get to reconnect with your mates!
What does the Vshow/theater/storytelling mean to you during the pandemic?
It's extremely important to me that we're still trying to put on this whole show online because the theatre arts brought me so much joy on campus and without this production I would have lost a vital part of my being (not exaggerating). I've missed this sense of community dearly over the pandemic and I'm so grateful to be able to experience working together again, albeit over the interwebs (better than nothing!)
Three words to describe your feelings/experience?
Excited, hopeful, blessed
V stands for…Varsity & Virtual!
“One thing that has been pretty crazy about going virtual with the show and carrying it on into another semester is that communication between different aspects of design and production is more complex now. Every role in the production depends on each other in a way that's more obvious now than in person. When I agreed to take on the Varsity Show last semester, I took fewer credits than I otherwise would have for the Spring semester. That meant that I had enough time to have individual meetings with designers fairly regularly, as well as to attend the weekly design, production, and c-team meetings with rehearsals. I was immersed in the show every day, so my job typically took the form of knowing what needed to happen on stage with all aspects of design at any given moment and communicating it to designers. This Fall, I'm taking more courses, as well as more time-consuming courses, rehearsal/filming times have changed, we're dealing with new schedules, new time zones, new formatting that is adapting as the show goes on, and additional aspects of design/production that need to be managed. Now more than ever, having communication, accountability, and trust within a team is the only way things work. A lot of conversations need to happen before the cameras start rolling on anyone. Along with the normal logistics questions of theatrical design (What is she wearing? Where does the scene take place? What should they look like? Sound like? What does he have with him?) how it is filmed has to be considered, as well as how it will be edited together into the larger scene, and the larger show as a whole. What needs to remain consistent and what can change between songs, scenes, and dances needs to be discussed. Whose role it is to make the final call on these decisions can get tricky, responsibilities that fall between roles are the most likely to slip between the cracks. The C-Team, designers, and production team have to try extra hard in a virtual space to ensure that they are all on the same page, everything that needs to get done is being done by someone, and no two people are doing the same single thing that needs to get done.
— Joseph Kurtz SEAS 21’, Lead Designer/Art Director
I think that despite the circumstances it’s still super exciting to shake up a 126 year old tradition... who knew when we all signed up we’d be going on such an insane odyssey together? I’ve been thinking a lot about how theatre has bent and morphed these last couple months when it totally could have just stopped, and our new V126 is like the ultimate product of this perseverance! So that’s sick!!! Something I dread is seeing THIS much of my face while filming. Acting onstage you DON’T SEE YOURSELF which is a JOY I took for granted. Now I just refilm and refilm and refilm. AGH!
— Samantha Seiff CC 22, Cast