“It’s an honor and a joy to be in show business
I feel that spotlight hit me and I’m gone
At the last curtain call
I’m the envy of all
So i know the show must
Go On!”

— Curtains

Hey Lexie, how is you Zoom play going?

Oh ya know - it’s fine. I am just happy the kids have space to perform and be weirdos together.

Hey Lex, how is directing on Zoom?

Honestly, I have no idea. All of my tactics as a director are active and on zoom I sort of just look like a crazy person. At least the kids get to laugh at something. I think it’s going okay.

Frare, how is She Kills Monsters going?

I have no idea but the kids seem happy.

This ‘eh but it’s for the kids…’ vibe has been my general demeanor for the last month. Working on this play has been about giving these twelve students an outlet, time with their friends, time with me and time to just be total weirdos in a safe, virtual space. That was enough. It has never been about creating theater… really. It has been about creating space for these kids to exist outside the realm of Covid.

Let’s play make believe in a world where you get to be heroes and fight dragons… and win.

There is no greater feeling than sitting in a dark, over-air conditioned theater for hours with no sense of time, watching magic happen in slow motion. Nothing. The magic of a technical rehearsal, the first orchestra rehearsal, a dress rehearsal … that is the energy I miss. I am a junkie completely itching for that moment of euphoria. It has been months since I have felt that wave wash over me. I had convinced myself that it wouldn’t happen on Zoom. How could it?

Tech rehearsal begins. A zoom box turns on. The appearance of a zoom box is no longer exciting in our lives. A beautiful teenage girl appears in a Party City cape with a magical, purple, universe style virtual background. As she starts the same speech I have heard for the last month, video projections appear. They add to the world. I suddenly feel like I am in the notebook of a teenager, staring at sketches and doodles. It’s the overture… the red velvet curtain rising. I hear words for the first time I have never heard before. The Narrator begins to hold herself differently. Her shoulders go back and down her spine. It is only exaggerated by the movement of her cape, which now glistens in the background.

Another two women pop on. They are in costume, wielding swords and cell phones to equally represent their characters. Their backgrounds are different … bedrooms from their characters' childhood. They use the new underscore music to help their characters pop out of the Zoom boxes and into my heart.

The Narrator mentions a car crash and we see a separate ZOOM box with headlights from a car moving closer towards us. My eyes dart between that box and the actress ‘seeing’ this happen. I feel her sadness and fear through the screen. I am experiencing it with her.

The Narrator is left on stage alone to give us our final crescendo of the overture. The moment we have been building towards. A story is about to begin. I can’t wait. I’ve been directing this play for a month but it’s like I am seeing it for the first time. What is going to happen next?

“... This is the story of how Agnes the Average finally learned to fight and kill monsters!”

A video appears! Epic music is playing in the background. S.H.E. K.I.L.L.S. M.O.N.S.T.E.R.S. is sketched across the screen. Just when you think it’s over, a sword appears out of nowhere striking through the words. Lightning strikes and the colors change to purple

Show chills!

I am transported. I am in a cold, dark theater, eating some nasty store bought sushi with a lump of excitement that goes from my stomach to my eyes, which has begun welling with tears.

I was not alone in this feeling. The students' eyes lit up. The energy was contagious. Pride radiated from screen to screen, box to box, household to household across all of NYC. The student designers saw as their visions came to life. The actors watched friends and cast members invest fully and wholeheartedly in this story. They evolved into our heroes. They fought the dragons.