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Last month was Phoebe Holden’s first time doing a crossover production between theater and film. Although she rehearsed in person as Caroline for Syracuse Stage ‘s production of “I and You,” the New York University graduate performed her role in front of a camera.

“It was another really interesting way back onto the stage that made me consider how much of what we were doing is going to continue to be done after we can have live shows again,” she said.

For the first time since September, actors and crew traveled to the Syracuse Stage theater this spring to produce Lauren Gunderson’s play “I and You,” which will stream from May 5-23 on the company’s website.

The play centers around two high school students. Caroline, who has been isolated in her room for months due to a life-threatening illness, forms an unlikely friendship with the athletic Anthony as they pursue a homework assignment together about poet Walt Whitman.

Jill Anderson, the managing director of the Syracuse Stage, said the theater decided to put on the play, as it was already interested in the work of Gunderson — the most produced living playwright in the country — when they planned to produce one of her Christmas plays in the winter. The play was also feasible to put on during the pandemic as it required the stage to hire only two actors and make one set.

Syracuse Stage will stream the two-person play “I and You,” from May 5-23.Courtesy of Syracuse Stage

Anderson was thrilled to rehearse in person again, since it was their first time welcoming actors and crew into the theater since the production of “Tally’s Folly” in the fall.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, Anderson never worked with the actors in person. A team of actors, designers and production staff received tests three times a week and wore masks to work in the theater. Anderson said the extensive efforts to prevent the virus’s spread such as minimizing the number of costume changes and encouraging quarantine, were worth the months of planning.

“For a lot of people, they really feel like it’s a passion and a calling beyond just how they earn their income,” Anderson said. “So the ability to be together again, I think folks are willing to sign up to be in that bubble and get tested all the time for the opportunity to do that.”

The creative team consisted entirely of women of color, and Anderson said the same team worked at the Syracuse Stage several years ago. That was the first time to her knowledge that the theater had a creative team consisting entirely of women of color.

Anderson is grateful to have a team where every member produces exceptional work, including their work with color and making the set on stage eye-catching.

For actor Cole Taylor, who was acting in a sequel to the ‘90s TV series “Saved by the Bell” over the past year, this was his first play with in-person rehearsals since the start of the pandemic. Everyone in theater was grateful for the privilege to work in person again after a hard year for theater employees, he said.

During the first week of rehearsing in the theater, the director Melissa Crespo would constantly remind them how amazing it is that they were in a theater because it was so foreign to them.

Prolific playwright Laura Gunderson’s “I and You” centers around two polar-opposite high school students that form an unlikely friendship. Courtesy of Syracuse Stage

“Even with no pandemic, being in a show is such a great opportunity. It’s a miracle, any of us can find work. I don’t know if anything has really shifted. But we can do this, this has opened up, we can record, and we know this is a possibility,” he said.

One interesting thing Taylor found while preparing for his role was realizing how similar he and Holden are to their respective characters. Taylor said Holden and her character Caroline are similar in that they both are quick-witted and are driven to do what they want without worrying what others think.

“It is a play that is surrounded on these two people’s relationship. And I felt like as I was getting to know Phoebe more, I was getting to understand Caroline, too,” Taylor said.

One of the most daunting aspects of doing a two-person show was that the characters have to keep the audience interested the whole way through, Holden said. This was challenging because her character Caroline goes through numerous mood swings throughout the show. Going through eight different intense emotions in a span of 20 minutes made rehearsals for the show exhausting in the best way, she said.

Syracuse University students can relate to the characters in the play because their feelings and experiences are universal for all high school students, Holden said. These include juggling issues with school and family and feeling uncertain about expressing one’s feelings.

Anderson is excited to see patrons’ responses to the show. Many have been expressing their excitement to get back into the theater through social media and emails.

“All the joy in the rehearsal room, the joy in our planning, joy in the process, it doesn’t get in front of the eyes of our community,” Holden said. “It’s always really exciting when something launches in this digital model and when the stream goes out.”

Published on April 27, 2021 at 10:05 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21