Reclaiming Materiality in Remote Theatrical Design Instruction

Abstract

In Fall 2020, I was asked by The Pennsylvania State University’s School of Theatre to teach THEA150 Fundamentals of Design to undergraduate students studying theatre design, technology, and stage management. For reasons of COVID-19 safety, the course was to be delivered in “hybrid mode,” implying a balanced combination of virtual teaching/learning and in-person teaching/learning. As it turned out, there was little that could be described as “hybrid” for this class of 24 students. On any given day 12 students attended class in-person (split between two classrooms), while 12 students attended synchronously remote. Reaching all students required every class be mediated by Zoom—even when co-present in the same classroom, students and I communicated through our laptops. Out of necessity, our hybrid class was pulled irrevocably into the digital realm. In response, I devised a semester-long assignment whereby students created five drawings per week based on open-ended prompts. The act of drawing created an analog space where students could connect with their body, mind, and spirit. While the analog sketchbook served as ballast against an ever-increasing digital experience, digital spaces emerged as sites where materiality flourished, creating new opportunities for collaboration and equity. Balance was achieved between the material and the digital. As the physical classroom seems poised to make a comeback, I plan to continue to seek balance between virtual teaching/learning and in-person teaching/learning. Just as I felt compelled in 2020 to carve out analog space for materiality to persist in digital space, today I am compelled to maintain digital spaces in the in-person classroom. Students and I will continue to meet and work in both places.