About The Comedy of Errors

CORBAN THEATRE DURING COVID-19

     “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times ... it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” So says Charles Dickens in his novel A Tale of Two Cities, as apt today as it was then. Difficulties, restrictions, frustrations, misunderstandings, and conflict abound, but out of great limitations comes great innovation, out of disunity comes productive confrontation, out of misunderstanding comes better communication. We are living in the best and the worst of times—same coin, two sides.

     We in Corban Theatre have chosen to take the restrictions and difficulties of the day and see them as challenges to find a way to create art safely and productively. As a result, theatre is alive and well at Corban University. It looks different; our procedures are different; our presentation will be different, but with irrepressible creative spirit and imagination, we excitedly prepare to stage our fall show, The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. The story presents a series of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, farcical actions, and ridiculous coincidences, all of which combine to create The Comedy of Errors. Join us for a good laugh at life’s unpredictability and for the encouragement that comes when difficulties are resolved—when all the strange, inexplicable things are untangled and community and connection are restored. Not a bad message for us in our situations today.

     Some of the innovations and accommodations we are making include:

  1. Actors wearing face shields with hoods attached. This supports safety for the actors and audience at the same time that it enables viewers to see the faces of the actors. This will present challenges for us in filming the show and in mic'ing the actors, but we are finding ways to do both effectively.
  2. Cancellation of our intended fall musical and choosing a play with no royalty protection so that we could record and stream it as well as offer it live and in person. We also are prepared to record in an individual virtual format if the cast is mandated to isolate at any given time, making group recordings impossible. This show only has a couple scenes that involve a group of people, and we are recording those scenes within the first few weeks of school while everyone is still able to be on site and is healthy. After that the smaller scenes of one and two people could be filmed in isolation if need be, and while it would not be optimal, we can make it work by editing the pieces together.
  3. We are planning the stage positioning and movement to adhere to social distancing practices as much as is feasible. The hooded shields actually mean we could get closer on occasion, but we are planning to avoid it as much as possible.
  4. We are rehearsing for both a stage play presentation for a live audience and for a recorded version of the play which calls for different movement and body expression. The need to practice for both formats increases the pressure and uses up a lot of time, but we are learning new skills and it is exciting and challenging.

     All in all, we are facing each obstacle with optimism and determination, and we are putting together a hilarious play that will be enjoyable and unique. I encourage you to join us and save the date for a virtual or actual play experience.

Corban Theatre

     Corban Theatre strives to worship God by presenting stories that justly depict God, truth, the human condition, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and good and evil. The Bible does not shy away from showing reality as it is rather than how we might want it to be, and neither do we shy away from telling stories that depict struggle, sin, and controversy, but we do so with an eye toward the redemptive power of Christ to transform our lives and to heal the world.

     We recognize that imagination and creativity are two characteristics we see in God from the Creation account forward. As image bearers, we all have an instinctive desire and compulsion to create, to appreciate beauty, to tell stories. We endeavor to be faithful stewards of our God-given creativity as we serve the playwrights, the play text, the directors, our fellow actors and our audience. We honor the imagination as a vehicle for communicating truth. We honor the medium of art. In beautifully unusual ways, it illuminates, enhances and broadens our understanding of God’s character and values.