Monique Walker loves musical theatre and owns a T-shirt that reads "I can't, I'm going to rehearsal". She also has cystic fibrosis.
The 16-year-old St Phillip's Christian College student has been self-isolating at home since news of COVID-19 broke.
"I grew up listening to music, and I've been surrounded by the performing arts for as long as I can remember," Monique tells Weekender.
"I've been doing it for so long, I consider it to be as normal as going to school.
"I do have cystic fibrosis but I'm not overly affected by it. Because of my genome type, my symptoms are incredibly minimal so it hardly affects my daily life other than the occasional check-ups at the doctor every three or so months. Other than that, I'm very fit and exercise is part of keeping me well.
"The dilemma is that even though I'm healthy, I still have cystic fibrosis and it is likely my lungs would not cope well if I got COVID-19. I attend Hunter Drama a lot during my usual week, and it was really disappointing realising isolation meant not just missing out on school. By the time I heard that classes were cancelled, though, I had already had a trial lesson online for my senior musical theatre class."
Thanks to some creative problem solving by the Hunter Drama team, Monique didn't have to miss out on her beloved classes after all.
Founder and CEO of Hunter Drama, Daniel Stoddart, says it was important to act quickly in the interests of the 400-plus students who participate in Hunter Drama's classes every week at venues in Newcastle, Maitland, Cessnock and Singleton.
"We wanted to be proactive to ensure our students don't miss out because we know that for a lot of them, attending their weekly classes (and for many, it's several classes per week) is a major highlight of their week," he explains.
"They were going to crave a creative outlet and connectivity more than ever. So we put our collective, creative, heads together and have developed the Hunter's first online acting classes for young people."
The program is called Hunter Drama in High Definition, or HD in HD, and enables students to log into an online platform, see their classmates, be led by their regular drama teacher through a variety of exercises and games, and learn lines with their fellow actors.
"It provides our students and their families the opportunity to maintain some kind of normality and routine, doing the things they love and interacting with their friends in a positive online learning environment."
Monique's mother Nerida says seeing her daughter's "beaming face after class is a real antidote to the limitations and moments of fear that creep in during the week".
"In our house we were all working on musicals or plays that were about to open or were to be staged in the next school holidays. Musical theatre and the local performing arts community bring us a lot of joy and fills our after-school calendars from late January to mid December every year," she says.
"Monique had already been out of her regular school setting for a week and when she realised she couldn't attend musical theatre.
"We were kicked out of our dining room for her first virtual class and she was beaming afterwards.
"Keeping connected to the creative activities that bring you joy, particularly during social distancing or self-isolation, is a welcome continuity of our normal life.
"Preserving good mental health during this season is so important."
Hunter Drama associate director James Chapman says the move online has been positive but not without its challenges.
"It was a huge challenge trying to wrap our brains around how to teach something as interactive and physical as drama over video chat but we've come up with something that lets our students continue their arts education remotely," he tells Weekender.
"Now that we're in our school holiday period we're working hard to expand the program which involves a lot of brainstorming how to adapt drama and activities games to work online as well as creating brand new games and activities from scratch.
"One challenge I've personally identified is that as a tutor it's actually a lot more exhausting to run an online course than run a face-to face lesson. Other challenges are technical glitches that arise here and there but for the most part we've been able to handle everything.
"We haven't missed a single class since we went online.
"It's also hard not knowing exactly how long we will be unable to run face-to-face lessons but we are working hard to be ready to run online classes for as long as it takes."
The positive feedback from students makes the hard work worthwhile.
"At the end of every workshop I ask my participants what they thought about the class. A lot of the kids were surprised at just how interactive we made the online lessons," Chapman says.
"They also expressed how grateful they were to be able to continue drama lessons and see their friends every week, since most of their other extracurricular activities have now been cancelled."
Alice Thompson,15, is one such student. She attends Merewether High School.
"The idea of not being able to do my drama and musical theatre classes because of what's happening in the world was heartbreaking, which is why I was so over the moon when I found out about HD In HD," she tells Weekender.
"I was one of three of the first test students, and it was the most fun I've ever had online. Classes ran in the same format and were just as enjoyable as they were in person.
"Since then, we've transitioned fully to online learning and the fun hasn't worn off one bit. The ability to connect with one another while in isolation and still be able to express ourselves in such an incredible way is invaluable."
She had been looking forward to performing in Hunter Drama's production of The Witches during the April school holidays but this, like so many other productions, was cancelled due to COVID-19.
"On what would have been our opening night, the cast is planning to do an online script read-through. It will be wonderful to be able to connect with my friends again and have some connection to normal life," she says.
The entertainment and performing arts industries have been hit particularly hard by the ramifications of COVID-19.
"Many arts workers are suffering because of the mass gathering ban and they're unable to generate any income - meaning they simply cannot afford food and rent," Stoddart says.
"HD in HD is a safe and innovative way to not only look after the wellbeing of our students during these uncertain times but it will also ensure our staff and tutors stay in work and are able to pay their bills.
"This specially designed distance learning platform is an example of how the arts have a positive impact on our social wellbeing."
House Seats
The City of Newcastle Drama Association (CONDA) and The Voice Studio have also responded to the coronavirus crisis by moving online. House Seats is an initiative of Rachelle Schmidt Adnum and allows people to access to webcam performances from Newcastle and Hunter artists and beyond via CONDA's Facebook page.
Artists submit downloadable links to their two to three-minute videos. Performances can be musical, magical, dance, drama, comedy - anything, really.
"Performers and creatives have a great advantage in times like this; innovative and creative thinking is what they do," Adnum says. "Rolling out new ways to perform and still bring joy to our audiences feels natural."
Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions, Adnum had no plans for an online performance series.
"It came about purely as response to what, I believed, was going to be a severe crisis for our industry," she says.
"Between CONDA, The Voice Studio and Out of the Square we have a great platform and incredible resources of talent. This initiative was a response to an awareness that creatives need to keep creating and our audiences want to stay engaged, not just for our industry but for our mental wellbeing."
Under new social distancing regulations ensembles will not be able to share a stage for the foreseeable future. Ticketholders are being encouraged to hold on to their tickets rather than ask for a refund.
"We are completely supportive of the social distancing rules and have asked anyone contributing [to House Seats] to be sure they don't put themselves at any unnecessary risk," Adnum says.
"I know here in Newcastle, the theatre community has gone above and beyond in implementing the new restrictions and have often been pre-emptive in their response, unlike many other sectors. I'm so proud of that sacrifice and response.
"There's an interesting contrast of feelings, I think. We are concerned about individual artists, venues and theatre companies who have had their incomes instantly wiped out, the logistics of broader issues like rescheduling and refunding and the mental health of an already susceptible community. But I am also witnessing an incredible fire in the belly of creatives. It's a desire to keep working and sharing our stories and passion with our audiences like we would live.
"I believe the arts are generally put well down the priority list in terms of government support, intervention and awareness. Perhaps a crisis like this might highlight the brilliance of the arts sector and how solution-focused we are. Plus how absolutely vital we are to our connection, humanity and cultural identity."
