SFA School of Theatre will be hosting a live-stream only show of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No

Exit” on Sept. 24 to 26.

by: John Martin
Sept. 22, 2020
martinjd4@jacks.sfasu.edu

Every student and professor will be able to tell you about a complication they have had to work
through to maintain their education in their field during the pandemic. Most classes are trying to
utilize an online format as much as possible to limit contact so things can return to normal, and
SFA’s School of Theatre is no different, but how does theatre translate into an online format?
Triston Haq is a Junior at SFA studying theatre and will be performing in “No Exit” in the role
of Joseph Garcin. This is not his first live stream show, as he performed in “Curse of Plenty” as
well as assistant directed Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ over the summer. “That was basically
where we worked out the kinks of Zoom,” Haq said. “The first and most prevalent problem was
backgrounds. Some people had pizza slices coming out of the sides of their face and you could
see their green screen behind them.”
Zoom is a working alternative to a live audience, but the green screen was only the first of the
issues Haq and his peers have needed to work through. Theatre is made up of more than just
actors. So are the prop designers, costume designers, set designers, and lighting technicians
meant to do? Some things can’t be helped.
Use of lighting is limited to only a few lights outside of the actor’s cameras. Props are limited to
as little as needed, and stage movement is limited to looking in the direction of the other cast
members in the Zoom call. “There were moments in the beginning where we were trying to do
complicated blocking, but after a while we just turned on our screens and told a story.”
New formats can present difficulties, but there’s a lot to be learned as well. “It’s definitely not
the same as a theater, but I like to look at it like a skill I can garner, it’s like doing a monologue,”
said Haq. “A very important thing I think should exist in theater and acting is connection, There
are some actors in movies with CGI that have to act with tennis balls with faces on them, and we
haven’t gotten to that conflict within the rehearsal process yet, but at some point we’re going to
have to look off to the side.”
Haq has a passion for theatre, and that passion is still present in his performances. “My favorite
kind of theater is like life. It’s a conversation, and that’s what I try to do in this. I think it also
helps to not have crazy blocking.”
On the main stage, the actors maintain a distance from the audience’s seating that makes it hard
to pick up minute movements or expressions. In Zoom, everyone has a front row seat and
a close-up. “You can’t fake it,” Haq said, “You can’t fake being angry or being sad. It kinda
comes back to that connection. You have to imagine a partner right there, but you also have to
not give into acting, you have to be honest and listen to your partner as they’re coming through
the speakers and feel it out and take what they’re giving you.”
“No Exit” is the first mainstage production hosted by SFA’s School of Theatre in the Fall
Semester of 2020, but moving on in the semester they will be looking towards a limited live
audience for Bert V. Royal’s “Dog Sees God” from Oct. 6 – Oct. 10.