Here is a cool idea I had for a Virtual Play:
About this.
Firstly, I repeat what I said in my Facebook post. Please don't comment on the pandemic, I find the topic greatly disturbing. Please also don't talk about how well or poorly theater groups are doing.
This gives you what my idea is but the script, actor, and execution of the project are up to any readers who wish to take it on. I would appreciate being created as "based on an idea by".
The Most Important part - this is NOT a 'pandemic thing' but a thing you're allowed to do in the pandemic.
Rather than emulate what we would do in person or pretend people are in the same room, the format would take advantage of being Virtual, in fact, it would be at its core! Therefore it would be fun to watch regardless of the pandemic!
The Idea
It's the distant future(like 2388) and something has gone wrong in the time stream. History may have been altered! The Temporal Police Commissioner is checking in on his agents in different time zones. It's like the agents are all roaming reporters. Everyone has the same perspective, like at a teleconference and the audience has been invited to sit in on it.
Actors requirements
Actors(or actresses) will need a good mic and webcam. Most actors would need a system that meets the Zoom Virtual Background System Requirements. That means they need a recent(like 5 years or newer) desktop or laptop. A smartphone(any age) is also useful for at least some of the actors. (See the sound effect section for more details about that). One, of course, needs a stable internet connection, a wired connection is recommended.
Audience Requirements
Just normal Zoom will do. Headphones would help.
Story
As I said it's a time travel story. It's also a long(1.5 hours?) temporal teleconference. The commissioner would ask an agent a question i.e. "What have you found in 1482?" and the agent would respond.
Of course like a real teleconference agents can talk out of turn or at the same time. Like a real teleconference, talking over each other would be very confusing. This would all be scripted of course.
While the commissioner is talking to one of the against, the others currently on the call would react as one would at a real teleconference. Rolling eyes in boredom, swatting at flies not visible to the audience(accompanied by appropriate sound effects), etc.
Script
I have not written one and don't feel like it(maybe if they is a lot of interest), that's up to you!
Virtual Bakdrops
This would be the ideal way of making people look like they are back in time but props could also be used and if nothing else people would have gone back in time to around our time(please avoid the pandemic, people don't want to think about that). It would seem strange if everyone was in our time, one or 2 people would be fine, so before announcing "we are doing a play with time travel" find some actors and see if the Virtual Backgrounds work for them. If they don't work 100% of the time say "They is a temporal shift and other times are bleeding in"(see technical issues section for more info)
Customs
You ever noticed how you can't see much of people Virtual other than their face and a bit of their front? Well, I have! Costumes would therefore take advantage of this and mainly consist of hats. If people have the correct setup, they could be farther from the cammra and show off a cool costume. They would be in discize of whatever timezone they're in. If needed they could be dropped off at people's homes and left for a while before being used. You could also write the play as "Why aren't you in your disaces" and the female againt says "Because corsets are SOOOO uncomfortable but don't worry I am out of site"
Sound effects
The director would play sound effects by Sharing Audio. Altativly the agents could discretely use their smartphones to play them. Then discretely move the phones closer to their mike to make it sound like say a T-rex is approaching.
Technical Issues
Most technical issues would be part of the play. The commissioner would improvise an in-universe explanation for what's going on. For example, if someone's video is frozen but the audio works, the commissioner would say "It looks like a Temporal Storm has interrupted your video signal". If the commissioner is not good at improvising, common issues and responses could be memorized. This will keep the audience immersed. Even if someone is disconnected, it would be because of a "Temporal Inversion Wave".
If someone has extreme problems i.e. is gone for a long time the director(who would be on the call), would step in and try and sort things out. In these extreme cases, they would be allowed to break character.
Having said that, reshusels would be done as frequently as an in-person play and actors would learn what issues they might have and how to solve them.
Distractions
Sometimes they are distractions from people doing things remotely and actors would improvise why others are hearing these things. Again if they are not comfortable with improve they would think of something ahead of time(we all know what have in our houses i.e if you own a dog).
Audaince Rules
Audience members could use emotes and type things like "LOL" in the chat, this could be like a real player. They can't chit-chat or comment accisivly. They would not be allowed unmute. In the end, they could turn on the webcams and show themselves clapping while on mute. Admins(like the director) would toggle Gallery view(or ask the audience to do so), that way on actors are on stage.
Pricing
The producers would decide the price, I have no suggestions.
Leaving/entering the scene
People would leave the scene by turning off their mic and webcam and enter by turning them on again. They could be called away for some reason and talk later.
Scenes
The play would take place as a long teleconference and like a real teleconference, they would be no 'scenes'. The director would break up the "scene" by different lines of inquiry or if people leave or enter.
Props
They is little need for props, just as you don't start waving your mouse around at a real teleconference. A few small props would be nice and they could even be household items or even an ordinary backyard stick if an agent is in prehistorical times.
!!!!SPOILERS!!!
The Ending
In the end, one of the agents would be the one who changed history. Hints to this and why he or she did it would be stated throughout the inquiry. For the last part, they would be interference and some of the videos would go down(webcams off but not mics), the actors would then act a "radio drama" style "scene" of the bad agent being apprehended. ("Hay let go of me!" "Your coming with us!", that sort of thing). Someone would say "The End" and the actors would then give a nod(sort of bow) in front of their webcams.
A surprise
If possible two of the agents(whose actors could live in the same household) would meet up, that is one would "jump" to the time the other is in.
That is they would start acting in separate rooms but then be acting in the same space. The only reason for doing this is the audience won't expect it and it would add realism. It would be completely optional.
