‘The communal energy was palpable’: UTEP theater students adapt to performing during pandemic
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The pandemic put a pause on most theatrical performances worldwide at a time when many people might have needed them the most.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented UTEP’s Department of Theatre and Dance with a seemingly impossible task: performing together while staying apart. Actors often say ‘the show must go on,’ but this time for UTEP, that show is moving online. Rehearsals are now taking place on Zoom.
“I really appreciate that our group is able to band together and really just continue to keep art alive,” said UTEP student Arianna Salas.
It was supposed to be a year senior Isabelle Rivera would never forget. Now it still is, but in a way no one could expect.
“I think that a lot of us have come together to create our own opportunities also because of the fact that a lot of them have been I guess taken away from us because of COVID,” Rivera said.
Rivera is a performer in UTEP’s first production of the season: ReUnion rEvolucion. The project was originally scheduled to be a three-day festival in the spring, but was postponed due to the pandemic. It is now airing exclusively on radio.
“It’s a very, very different experience,” said Kim McKean, Founder and Artistic Director of the project. “Accidents and setbacks can actually propel innovation, can propel you forward.”
McKean said the project has brought many people together during a time that has kept so many apart.
“Even though we were looking at each other through the screen, the communal energy was palpable,” she said. “You had the sense of, we are doing something important.”
For Rivera, it’s making a year like no other a bit more familiar.
“I think it really brings us closer because we're so used to seeing each other every day at school,” Rivera said. “I feel like nothing is impossible and just because we're on Zoom doesn't mean that we have to stop doing what we normally do.”
ReUnion rEvolucion is airing at 11:30 a.m. each Saturday during the month of September on 88.5 FM KTEP. More information on the production can be found here.
