The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone, forcing the review of daily activities and tasks and putting a premium on health and safety.

For the members of SAY IT! On Stage, a program supported by the Town of Pelham that engages seniors and youth in the community, the pandemic forced them to get creative in every facet of their production, including how to complete it.

It would have been easy to pack it in for 2020, chalk up the incomplete project to the pandemic, and hope for a better result in 2021. But for Colleen Kenyon, creative lead for the project, forging ahead was the only option.

“Where else can you find 17 and 70-year-olds together in a virtual space, interacting as peers?” said Kenyon. “We’re delighted to have put our imaginations to work, producing a bit of audio entertainment for audiences to enjoy. The real worth of this program, however, is in the unique friendships that form across the generations throughout the process of building our performance pieces. Since the SAY IT! On Stage project launched in June of 2019, it has provided a space for people to share who they are, and to explore what they are capable of artistically.”

Unable to meet in person, project members assembled in Zoom rooms, experimenting with a hybrid theatre art: old-time radio plays performed on a videoconferencing app. Through months of weekly virtual meetings, the members met to read through vintage scripts and then set to work, creating a radio play of their own. Developing their characters, plot lines, and setting the scene without a stage became the meetings’ focus.

The resiliency of the arts became apparent as SAY IT! members rehearsed from a living document in a virtual venue. The performers did not let their endeavour’s newness deter them from learning a whole new way to communicate, wait out unstable internet connections, and record endless electronic versions of a prodigious draft document. By early fall, the group’s efforts saw a radio script in its final stages of editing come to life. Unearthed, an original radio play, was born.

The challenge then became how to record a podcast, with multiple voice actors, in a pandemic. Following the latest public health requirements, measuring tapes, clear barriers, contact tracing, a strict schedule, and plenty of sanitization supplies, recording day took place in late November. Just as the group adjusted learning Zoom, they quickly took to recording tracks for each of the performers.

“It was quite impressive to see the ingenuity and the passion that went into bringing this project to life,” said Leah Letford, special events and festivals coordinator with the Town of Pelham who helped oversee the logistical elements of the production. “You could see the connection that these community members had built with each other through this process. And to do it, with the adversity presented by the pandemic’s restrictions, it was quite remarkable and should be celebrated.”

After several rounds of edits and review, the radio play was complete. The performers gathered around their Zoom screens over the holidays to have a listening party of their original production.

The final product of Unearthed follows a pair of armchair detectives as they unravel a tangle of suspects and clues. Those interested in listening to the radio play can find it through the Town of Pelham website www.pelham.ca/arts and can listen to the three episodes.

The SAY IT! On Stage group is now looking forward to this year’s project, and those interested in joining are welcome to connect virtually to learn how they can be involved. This year, the group hopes to produce a film.