TCOE Theatre Company’s teen spring online video project, Dream Roles – a Virtual Concert Cabaret Experience!, is now available online. The video was created from a collection of virtual performances recorded while observing COVID-19 safety protocols, including social distancing for group numbers and the pre-recording of vocals.
In January 2021, over 20 middle and high school students from around the county submitted audition videos to be a part of this virtual project. Through Zoom rehearsals beginning in late February, Theatre Company directors brought Porterville, Three Rivers, Tulare, Exeter, and Visalia talent together to create the concert event.
This concert project is a collaboration between Theatre Company vocal director Charlotte Garcia Da Rosa and the cast based on the question, “If you could perform a song from your musical theatre dream role, what would it be?” Similar to a New York cabaret, this concert weaves together different themes and stories featuring Broadway hit songs from current shows including Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera and others. Garcia Da Rosa reports that the cast wrote their own dialogue, staged their performances, costumed themselves, designed their own lighting effects, and self-recorded their solos – with some performers even editing their own audio and video.
When COVID-19 restrictions eased slightly for Tulare County residents in April, several students were able to come together to stage four songs directed and choreographed by Garcia Da Rosa. Travis Walters, owner of Film Owl Productions, filmed the four group numbers and edited them with the solo acts into a two-hour concert experience.
“Keeping our students’ performance dreams alive as they continue to brave this pandemic is the driving force behind this project,” Garcia Da Rosa said. “We hope this concert inspires our audience to keep dreaming as we forge through this challenging year.”
The community is invited to enjoy the talents of Tulare County students in Dream Roles – a Virtual Concert Cabaret Experience! by visiting tcoe.org/TheatreCabaret.