Resource Guide for the Classroom: "Rock Out with Your Schnoz Out: The COVID Play"

Filmed Comedic Performances

During the pandemic, filmed comedic performances were still presented almost entirely over online mediums. These performances often relied on experimental filming methods in order to avoid having the cast be physically together in the same space. These performances were aired primarily over Zoom and streaming services. 

In The New York Times article "Nurse Get Their Say, and Scotland Speaks" by Elisabeth Vincentelli, Vincentelli describes the play The Party Hop. The Party Hop, which was filmed over Zoom and streamed over YouTube, is a play about a college party "set three years into quarantine" that takes place entirely over Zoom. The play attempted to deal with the trauma of the pandemic directly, but not through dark humor, rather by simply displaying how life adapts around the pandemic. 

In the FreeTimes article "Filmed on Zoom and phones, SC’s Spanglish theater troupe tackles pandemic with dark comedy" by Vincent Harris, Harris breaks down the play Ceviche o No Ceviche: COVID-19 Edition. The play was streamed over Facebook. The play strove to "deal with social issues, in this case COVID or different approaches to sexuality." It confronted COVID-19 head-on by describing the impacts of the death of one of the main characters because of COVID-19. According to the director, Betsy Newman, the play "is kind of about sex and dealing with COVID." The play was meant to use dark humor to help the audience deal with their own pandemic trauma. 

Most traditionally filmed comedic performances during the pandemic chose to address the pandemic head-on and, in a way, help their audiences to cope with the trauma of the pandemic. 

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