Music theater and the new COVID-normal

This year has been really hard for the Colorado theater community. We've all had to accept a whole new way of working with each other. I think a lot of us were reluctant to embrace collaboration technologies at first, but eventually we had to adapt to the new COVID-normal.

Naturally, the Denver-based show (WYSIWYG the Musical) was not immune. The team was planning a full year of shows at various venues and festivals across the country, but the cancellations started pouring in. Eventually, the disappointments turned into opportunity when they decided it was time to adapt to the new online format. To become COVID-friendly the show retooled its rehearsal processes and physical scenes were transitioned to one-to-one device apps, online therapy sessions and happy hour groups. A new soundtrack was created and the rehearsal materials are available from the WYSIWYG website. 

WYSIWYG (WIZ-ee-wig) is a contemporary Musical created by award-winning composer April Alsup. Far from the gender bending stories we’ve come to know, her characters find living day-to-day to be hard, lonely and heartbreaking, so they go online to live out their dreams and escape the harsh realities of the world.