Reconstruction through Zoom of a previous production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, seeking mechanisms for audience interaction.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown measures, the theater company, which had already been exploring the transcendence of traditional stage boundaries, re-staged their previous production of The Tempest through Zoom. They achieved this by having actors perform from different locations, using virtual backgrounds and chroma keying techniques, incorporating pre-recorded videos and other cinematic or visual effects, all while considering the composition of the shots. Production director Giles Stoakley stated that involving the audience was crucial to create a sense of live performance. Some of the interactions included asking questions during a “press conference” at the beginning, contributing to the sound field by recreating sounds of animals on an island, or turning on their cameras when creating background noises. The company engaged in deep reflection and documented their findings and experiences in a detailed report.