The A-Zs that rocked 2021: Hybridity in performing arts
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(From left) Rusydina Afiqah, Dalifah Shahril, Rafaat Hamzah, Farah Lola and Adib Kosnan play a squabbling family in Checkpoint Theatre’s Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims).
PHOTO: CHECKPOINT THEATRE
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SINGAPORE - To stage or not to stage live shows, that is the question.
The answer for performing arts this past year has been hybrid productions where audiences can choose from in-venue events, digital streaming or a mix of both.
Hybrid shows are the new normal, with performing arts groups offering everything from streamed versions of live performances to shows created with a combination of stage and streamed elements.
This new hybridity grew out of the stuttering, scrambled experiments of last year as the pandemic took hold and theatres were shut down for eight months. Some groups took to digital faster than others.
The Singapore Chinese Orchestra, for example, was one of the first groups to create a steady stream of original digital content for its YouTube and Facebook channels. It also offers patrons the option of digital streaming or in-venue tickets bundled with digital views.
But some groups have gone beyond simply streaming shows. They offer innovative productions and concepts which meld the buzz of live theatre, the talents of its actors and the advantages of digital delivery.
Most notably, Sight Lines Entertainment's ongoing collaboration with playwright Chong Tze Chien has yielded four iterations of its horror series, which began as a murder mystery delivered over Zoom and has evolved into a hybrid production where audiences can choose an in-venue escape room experience for the show.
Older theatre companies have also proven to be as nimble as their younger counterparts.
The Theatre Practice's inventive The Bride Always Knocks Twice - Killer Secrets unfolded over digital platforms with staged sets at Chinatown's Hotel Soloha for audiences to hunt for clues and a live question-and-answer session with the "suspects".
When heightened restrictions kicked in, the entire production simply continued online, with the sets accessible as 3D virtual experiences instead.
Checkpoint Theatre chose another option for its production Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims). Instead of merely shooting an archival recording, the company brought in Joel Lim as a co-director for a more cinematic approach to shooting the play.
It was not only performing arts companies which were pushed to hybrid formats.
Other festivals such as the Singapore HeritageFest and Singapore Writers Festival, too, offered online programmes.
The latter experienced major hiccups on its opening weekend, with streaming programmes disrupted by poor connectivity. That was an abject reminder that digital is still a poor second cousin to live programmes.
