Delivering Theatre Classes Online Presents Unique Challenges for WIU Faculty

University News

Delivering Theatre Classes Online Presents Unique Challenges for WIU Faculty

April 24, 2020

Sophomore musical theatre major Danny Hollander, of Palatine, performs "Man Could Go Quite Mad."

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of feature stories about Western Illinois University faculty who are adapting and finding unique ways to reach their students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

MACOMB, IL – Theatre students at Western Illinois University are used to performing in a public setting, entertaining the masses in the process. But as classes transitioned to an alternative format because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has taken adjustment by the talented WIU Theatre and Dance faculty to deliver the arts content in new way.

One of those faculty members, Associate Professor Lysa Fox, has been using a dedicated Facebook page so her students can upload videos of their performances for her Theatre 276 class. Delivering academic material to students outside the classroom has been a constant challenge.

"The arts do not transfer over online as slick as some other areas of study do," said Fox. "We teach vulnerability, human connection, relationship, and we do it in an assembled setting - so this is wildly counter-intuitive to the community-based nature that artists are used to working in."

Fox said many of the students are now at home with siblings or parents and are unable to find a space to create content for class assignments. Reaching out to students individually to check on their personal welfare and hosting advising appointments on Google Hangout has been a "real gift," she added.

Students have adapted quickly to the alternative course format, but Fox said the lack of classroom structure has added challenges to class delivery.

"This generation lives in the digital, technical world, but I have been surprised to hear them comment on the challenges of everything being online," she said. "One or two classes online is one thing, but all of your classes is another ballgame. The biggest thing I hear from them is having trouble finding structure - and structure is what helps you know you're ticking off the boxes in getting things done. So, every chance I get, I'm sending info to them regarding ways to try to combat that."

Two of the three classes Fox teaches are done using a team-teaching method with other faculty. She said having other faculty to rely on during this difficult period has been especially helpful.

Her most challenging class to move to an alternative format is her dance combinations class, which had to call it quits on a specific performance number when the pandemic began.

"Most students don't have the space to actually dance it, and when you are not in the room with them, it's nearly impossible to give any kind of adjustment and correction," she said. "One of my musical theatre classes went from partner work to solos and adjusting the assigned material."

Another of Fox's classes, in musical theatre, is a "full-on team project," with groups of two-three students assigned to create a 25- to 30-minute version of an assigned musical through scenes and songs.

"We threw the doors open on this one," she said. "We're making sure they understand the objective and our wanted outcomes of exploring the show and the characters, but we've let them decide what that looks like. So far, they've come up with some really great ideas."

Fox said her classes feel like a nice escape and a safe space for students to get away from the daily pandemic coverage. As a professor, she said the Coronavirus has helped her better understand the terms "community" and "assembly."

"That is what theatre is based on, in so many ways, and really speaks to who I am as a person," she said. "As an extrovert and a 'hugger,' this whole business is very counter-intuitive to me. I miss my students - I miss being in close contact with them every day. I miss being able to really look in their eyes and see how they're doing. I miss my classrooms and the WIU campus."

For more information on the WIU Department of Theatre and Dance, visit wiu.edu/theatre.