The San Jose State Department of Film and Theatre’s latest live video production, “Alone Together” told eight stories of people’s lives during the coronavirus pandemic, giving viewers a breath of fresh air by showing they’re not alone in
their struggles.
After running on Saturday, “Alone Together” was the department’s first play at the Hammer Theatre since the pandemic began.
Director Oluchi Nwokocha said while it was hard to direct a play during the pandemic, the resilience she and her peers showed as artists allowed them to adapt.
“Firstly, the art will never die. This [play] is just a great example of the fact how we, as artists, are flexible or malleable,” Nwokocha said in a Zoom interview. “This is one of the examples of us adjusting to the situation.”
In order to follow Santa Clara County’s coronavirus guidelines, the production team made many changes to the play’s rehearsals
and production.
Theatre arts junior and stage manager, Lucas Ward, noticed his role took on different responsibilities since the pandemic started.
“I was almost the de facto COVID compliance officer for the theater department, where it was my responsibility to make sure we were staying safe within all the local COVID protocols, that we were six feet apart on stage and 12 feet if we were going to be unmasked,” Ward said through Zoom.
One of the play’s key moments was an opera scene, where a character named Luis, played by Arturo Montes, moved outside of his “Zoom box,” a six foot cube that socially distanced actors, toward the audience to perform his scene.
With this scene, Nwokocha wanted to capture the feeling of being a live audience member to help the viewers visualize themselves inside the theater.
“I wanted to show us being back into the theater,” Nwokocha said. “Because that’s the thing that people miss the most about being in a movie theater at a concert or at a play is the collectiveness of other people with you.”
Even with the online viewing and various COVID-19 restrictions, theatre arts senior Elijah Torres said he still enjoyed the play because of its relatability.
“There was a story performed by Marisa Lopes and she talked about how she wants her grandma to see her on stage one last time, but because of the circumstances it’d be a bit harder,” Torres said. “I really resonated with that. I’m really close with my grandma and this pandemic has hit her hard in terms of her daily life.”
For some including Torres, “Alone Together” represents what students need right now: the opportunity to understand the complexity of their emotions with stories that are relatable.
To Nwokocha, the play represents people’s experiences over the past year. Many have lost loved ones and the job market is plummeting. With that in mind, the play symbolizes resilience and perseverance to endure these hardships.
“Each piece was like a little light into the window of what we’ve been dealing with this past year,” Nwokocha said.
