THETRE IN FRAME: ACTOR'S CHALLENGE AND ADAPTATION TO PRESENTING THEATRE ONLINE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

While professional theatre has been interrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic, theatre in higher education become important spaces for experimenting and developing online performance. This study aimed to study challenges and problems that theatre actors faced in producing theatre during Covid-19 situation, and to study how actors adapted to online presentation. Interviews were conducted with actors and directors of three theatre productions of the Department of Performing Arts, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The results revealed that online theatre was virtual theatre as actors worked together online from their own’s residence. The actors dealt with various problems and challenges relating to space. The actors’ adaptation to online presentation could be divided into three stages. At first, the actors did what they used to do for live theatre, then they adapted and learnt how to act for front camera. Finally, the actors became creative with presenting their work on the new platform, which demonstrated the actor’s complete adaptation from stage to online theatre. The key informants of this research agreed with opinion of theatre practitioners from abroad that online theatre has potential to become new normal and new form of theatre performance after the Covid-19 situation.