Virtual Innovation in a 2020 Production of Manual for a Desperate Crossing by María Irene Fornés. Interview with BYU Professor of Theatre, Kris Peterson

Resumo

While other pieces by Fornés have been more produced, such as Fefu and her Friends or Tango Palace, director Kris Peterson talks about why Manual for a Desperate Crossing, from 1996, spoke to her and her students, along with the many challenges and surprising rewards from working through and presenting this piece entirely virtually during the early part of the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. As we have seen repeatedly in the field of theatre, the pandemic moment forced artists, practitioners, and theatre community folks to re-think the art of production and possible adaptations given the new restrictions. While theatre may have returned to mostly in-person productions in the present moment, the lessons we can take from the accelerated learning about how to pivot under isolation and physical restriction will stay in our tool kit for years to come.