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VOA慢速英语--美国剧院在新冠疫情间尝试新的表演方式

时间:2020-12-12 16:40来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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American theaters are changing during the coronavirus crisis1. Theater groups are finding new, creative ways to perform their art. But it is unclear if such performances should be called live theater or another term, theater experts say.

Broadway is still alive. There continues to be theater on New York's famous Broadway, but it is beyond Manhattan's closed theaters.

Up north lies the United Palace, a theater with seats for 3,000 people. An actor recently read lines from a stage. The silent theater was mostly empty.

Tony Award-winner Jefferson Mays was performing several parts from "A Christmas Carol," based on the book by Charles Dickens. The performance was being filmed for streaming this month. This one-man show is an example of how many who work in theater are refusing to let COVID-19 stop their art.

Tony Award-winning producer Hunter Arnold was watching Mays onstage.

"Because it's such a roll-up-your-sleeves business, theater people figure it out," Arnold said. Roll-up-your-sleeves is an expression that means to prepare to work very hard.

"Of everything I've ever done in my life," Arnold added, "it's the place where people lead from ‘how?' instead of leading from ‘why not?'"

Live theater and the health crisis

The coronavirus crisis shut down theaters and the TV and movie industries last spring. Film and TV production have slowly started again. But the virus has created an especially difficult problem for theaters. That problem is the reason it will be among the last performing arts to return to normal.

In theaters, props3 and costumes are usually touched by many people each night. An orchestra4, a large musical group, is often put in a small area just beneath the stage. Backstage areas are small and shared. And theaters are often very crowded.

New ways are needed. Theaters are trying many different ideas. They have done radio plays, online readings, online variety shows and drive-in experiences that mix live singing with movies. The performers of the musical "Diana" met on Broadway to film the show for the American streaming company Netflix.

Mays' "A Christmas Carol" was filmed on a set with a high-tech5 light source. The performance is raising money for suffering, small theaters around the country. The San Francisco Playhouse recently offered showings of Yasmina Reza's play "Art," a production captured live by many cameras. An important scene that required the actors to touch each other was reimagined to keep social distancing.

A musical version of the animated6 film "Ratatouille" is being explored on TikTok.

New Definition

Charlotte Moore is the artistic7 director and co-founder of the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City. "We will conquer it. We are theater people. By God, we will conquer it and get it done," she said.

Her company has put on a free streaming holiday production of "Meet Me in St. Louis." Moore directed the production from St. Louis. It has around twelve performers who are recorded individually. The performers were mailed or given props, costumes and a green screen. A green screen permits a person to perform without a background. On a computer, the green is later removed, and the background is placed behind the performer.

The performers rehearsed on Zoom8 and FaceTime, two apps that let people see and talk to each other. A masked and socially distant orchestra recorded the music, and the sets were projected onto the actors' screens.

"You learn minute by minute by minute along the way what works, what doesn't, what to do, what not to do," said Moore. She performed in the first Broadway production of "Meet Me in St. Louis" in 1989.

"It's torture and it's thrilling — thrilling torture." Thrilling is a term that means exciting. Like many other theatrical9 productions moving into the digital world, it's not clear what to call the new production of "Meet Me in St. Louis." It is not live theater, but it is theatrical.

"It's not definable10 in our current vocabulary," Moore said. "It has to have a new definition, truly, because it's certainly unlike anything that has been done."

Words in This Story

stream – v. to send or receive data over the internet (often audio and video) in a steady manner

prop2 – n. an object that is used by a performer or actor or that is used to create a desired effect in a scene on a stage, in a movie, etc.

costume – n. the clothes that are worn by someone (such as an actor) who is trying to look like a different person or thing

animated – adj. produced by the creation11 of a series of drawings, pictures, etc., that are shown quickly one after another produced through the process of animation12

conquer – v. to gain control of (a problem or difficulty) through great effort

rehearse – v. to prepare for a public performance of a play, a piece of music, etc., by practicing the performance

vocabulary – n. the words that make up a language


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 crisis pzJxT     
n.危机,危急关头,决定性时刻,关键阶段
参考例句:
  • He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明,在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
  • The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。
2 prop qR2xi     
vt.支撑;n.支柱,支撑物;支持者,靠山
参考例句:
  • A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
  • The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。
3 props 50fe03ab7bf37089a7e88da9b31ffb3b     
小道具; 支柱( prop的名词复数 ); 支持者; 道具; (橄榄球中的)支柱前锋
参考例句:
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。
4 orchestra 90OyN     
n.管弦乐队;vt.命令,定购
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
  • I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。
5 high-tech high-tech     
adj.高科技的
参考例句:
  • The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展,这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
  • The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。
6 animated Cz7zMa     
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
  • We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
7 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
8 zoom VenzWT     
n.急速上升;v.突然扩大,急速上升
参考例句:
  • The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
  • I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近,昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。
9 theatrical pIRzF     
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的
参考例句:
  • The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果,叫人失望。
  • She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
10 definable 798877e6f94b91c6aa5a2bb02e2956bc     
adj. 可定义的, 可确定的
参考例句:
  • The controller has re-definable control structure and supports the simulation software MATLAB. 在实现多轴协调运动控制的同时,该控制器还具有控制结构可重定义及支持仿真软件MATLAB的特点。
  • This is due in large part to GlobalSpec's definable customer base. 这很大程度上是因为GlobalSpec的可以确定的客户基础。
11 creation CzExH     
n.创造,创造的作品,产物,宇宙,天地万物
参考例句:
  • Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
  • The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。
12 animation UMdyv     
n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作
参考例句:
  • They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
  • The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
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TAG标签:   VOA英语  慢速英语
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