Over one year ago, Laila Perlman and I started to work on our production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Luckily, we were able to perform that production just a few days before the college transferred to online learning due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since then, theatre-makers have struggled with the loss of our industry, with personal setbacks, and the daily challenge to navigate these difficult times.
It was during the first weeks of the semester that I realized the need to perform a show that would give people hope, to look forward. I saw this production as an opportunity to experiment with the countless possibilities to create theatre during a pandemic. I have to thank the creators and cast of Mad Forest (Fisher Center at Bard, 2020, dir. Ashley Tata) and O My Heart (Bard Musical Theatre Company, written by Nat Currey and Vanessa Bennett, dir. Nat Currey) for their inspiration and great innovative ideas. This production is designed to give an insight into the lives of people that have to make difficult decisions and this process. I hope Songs For A New World gives you both hope and challenges you to think about the world from a new perspective; what has changed in your life that you can be proud of, what hardships have you endured?
A massive thank you to my four amazing cast members, Lila, Kaylie, Scotty, and Roman for your patience, talent, and most of all, your friendship. Also, thank you to my directing partner, Sophia Lawder for having such an incredible vision for the show and always driving production team meetings forward with your ideas. And to Riley, for your patience with all of our schedules, your friendship, and unparalleled support.
Much love,
Jonja Merck
I think that very few people in the theater department haven’t felt empty or unfulfilled at least to some degree in the past year. In a matter of weeks, doing what we all love most - getting together in a space to tell a story - was suddenly deemed impossible. As students cleared out in March, the air felt confusing, and frustrating, and scary. We have of course craved singing and dancing and the nervous energy that comes with being backstage - but more than that, craved the feeling of togetherness that theater creates. The first experience that I had with live theatre since March was the POC Theatre Ensemble’s production of Fucking A, and it gave me so much hope for the future. Putting together Songs For a New World - getting together in small, COVID-safe groups to work through songs and block them - gave us all back something we had been missing dearly - something that personally, I had almost grown used to not having. Songs For a New World is an abstract musical so that multiple stories weave around one another and intertwine...we as directors think the more stories being told and songs being sung in a difficult time, the better!
I would like to thank everyone who was involved with this production in any way - the cast for trusting us with this process and the creative team for their oodles of amazing ideas and consistent help! Mostly, though, I am so thankful for Jonja for taking me along on this journey - and showing resilience, endless creativity, and support along the way.
Love and hugs,
Sophia Lawder
