Open Forum

We are going into in-person rehearsals for a production that has a few absolutely necessary kisses. The students will be masked and, when possible, distanced. Our school is being extremely careful, requiring regular testing, especially now that a modified athletics season is up and running. So I am feeling confident about blocking that requires close proximity, with some physical contact. I am 100% confident that our audiences will just accept the mask as a part of our new reality. But how do I pull off believable kisses?  Since we'll be performing outdoors, with minimal scenery, we can't fake it behind a scrim. And any attempt to make those moments funny will play counter to the feel of the show. Any suggestions?

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Michael Bergman
Teacher/Director
He/Him/His pronouns
The Potomac School
McLean, VA
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Several thoughts... If it's a passionate kiss, you may be able to block it so they each pretty much bury their nose into their partner's neck, and let the arms and body language do the work. If it's less than that, one person can hold the other's face with both hands and move in for the kiss, then slide their own thumb over the partner's mouth at the last moment, so they're just kissing their own thumb. Finally, just like no actual contact is made during some stage combat moves - but appears to be - perhaps your blocking can be set with the DS player obscuring the specifics of the US player so the audience buys into the context of the moment without actually witnessing physical contact.
(What's the play?)

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Douglas "Chip" Rome
Theatre Consultant
Educational Stages
Burke VA
http://EducationalStages.com
https://bit.ly/RWTEOview
https://bit.ly/eTeachTech
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2021 09:24
From: Michael Bergman
Subject: Kissing in a pandemic?

We are going into in-person rehearsals for a production that has a few absolutely necessary kisses. The students will be masked and, when possible, distanced. Our school is being extremely careful, requiring regular testing, especially now that a modified athletics season is up and running. So I am feeling confident about blocking that requires close proximity, with some physical contact. I am 100% confident that our audiences will just accept the mask as a part of our new reality. But how do I pull off believable kisses?  Since we'll be performing outdoors, with minimal scenery, we can't fake it behind a scrim. And any attempt to make those moments funny will play counter to the feel of the show. Any suggestions?

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Michael Bergman
Teacher/Director
He/Him/His pronouns
The Potomac School
McLean, VA
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I second what Chip suggested with regards to treating the kiss like a stage combat moment and "masking" it (no pun intended) so that contact is only an illusion.  I attended a stage intimacy workshop, pre-pandemic, where the trainer suggested this as a solution when either of the actors felt uncomfortable - for any reason - with actually making contact.

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Guy Barbato
Theatre Teacher/Director
Leonardtown High School
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2021 09:24
From: Michael Bergman
Subject: Kissing in a pandemic?

We are going into in-person rehearsals for a production that has a few absolutely necessary kisses. The students will be masked and, when possible, distanced. Our school is being extremely careful, requiring regular testing, especially now that a modified athletics season is up and running. So I am feeling confident about blocking that requires close proximity, with some physical contact. I am 100% confident that our audiences will just accept the mask as a part of our new reality. But how do I pull off believable kisses?  Since we'll be performing outdoors, with minimal scenery, we can't fake it behind a scrim. And any attempt to make those moments funny will play counter to the feel of the show. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Michael Bergman
Teacher/Director
He/Him/His pronouns
The Potomac School
McLean, VA
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