4 Student Actors Share What It’s Really Like Going Back to In-Person Learning

Though there is still so much uncertainty, the performing industry is beginning to bounce back from the pandemic. The next generation of actors and creators are returning to in-person training after a year and a half. So what’s it like to be back in class in the age of COVID-19? 

Four college students from around the country share their thoughts on where we are and where we need to go.

What were your expectations leading up to the fall semester?

I was nervous all summer because I didn’t know what to expect. I was like, What if I don’t like class in person? I loved it so much over Zoom. But luckily, I was able to do a lot of theater this past summer, and that kind of got me back in the swing of things—into performing and being in the theater scene again. —Alexa St. Clair, BFA in musical theater, Rowan University

I was always hoping that we’d be back, that we’d be maskless. But I knew that was pretty unrealistic. It was, like, two weeks before school actually started again that the mask mandate came back. The main thing was that we were coming back with a full in-person season, and there was still so much unknown about [how that would work]. —Alyssa Marchant, BFA in acting, Southern Methodist University

 I definitely was going back [to campus], whether class was online or not. Of course, I feel like throughout the past year and a half, I’ve learned not to expect anything. I was hoping to go back fully in-person, but there were still those doubts. —Victoria Mozitis, BFA in musical theater, Rider University

How has in-person learning changed with the new COVID-19 regulations?

We’re fully in-person. We have masks when we’re in spaces with each other, and we make sure we’re sanitizing and stuff like that. But we’re in the space with each other, which is really great, even in that capacity. —Christopher Portley, MFA in acting, Case Western Reserve University

As of now, masks are required in every class. In all my performance classes, we are wearing masks. And while it’s not ideal, it could be worse; we could be on Zoom! Myself, my professors, my peers—we’re just so happy to be together. —St. Clair

We’ve been rehearsing masked and social-distanced. But for the performances themselves, we’re going to be maskless. As soon as we’re offstage, we whip a mask on backstage. Just being back in rehearsals is weird, but it almost feels like it’s been no time. —Marchant

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I took in-person class for granted, especially my dance classes. I have a jazz class this semester, and in the first class, our energy was amazing. And I feel like I’ve improved as a dancer because now I’m enjoying taking up space and dancing with other people. —Mozitis

What do universities need to improve?

They still have a lot of work to do. They’re not even close. But they are creating a space and making sure it is welcoming, whether that’s coming into rehearsal for a show or at the start of classes. —Portley

I think we can all be a little more sensitive. This is a pandemic; this is something nobody has experienced before. We can take a step back, be a little more empathetic [and] understanding, continue these conversations about mask safety and vaccinations, and just listen a little bit more to everyone. —St. Clair

If I was a freshman looking into programs, my main focus would be: What are you doing right now, in terms of dealing with all of this? [Last year,] the head of our department was very strict about what we were doing and what we weren’t doing, and I wish there had been more creative freedom for student-produced work, because everybody’s mind was still working. It wasn’t like everyone’s mind just shut off.  —Marchant

The tough thing is singing with a mask, and that’s been challenging in my voice lessons. But I think we’re doing well now. Our classes are pretty small, so we’ve been able to space [them] out. — Mozitis

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What has the experience of the last 18 months been like? 

I had mixed feelings, going back and forth. We’re on a computer screen. You can’t touch, you can’t feel, you can’t interact. And we’re acting. How are you going to be intimate with someone or intimate with a character or simply in my process through a computer screen? I hated it. I had a lot of moments thinking, How is this productive?  —Portley

I talk about it now with my friends—and even my professors—that I had only met over Zoom. [Throughout] that year, we created such bonds. And it’s like: Oh, my God, we’ve only seen each other three times in person, but I feel we’ve been in each other’s lives. And I mean, we have been, but just in a different way. —St. Clair

The transition of suddenly having to do training in my living room was really interesting. I had a musical theater dance class that I would do on my patio every day. It was crazy, but everybody adjusted relatively well. I think everybody just thought that by fall [of 2020], it would all be back to normal, and it would’ve just disappeared into thin air. —Marchant

I was home for a year and a half. It was frustrating, because I’m someone who bounces off the energy of other people, so it was difficult to act on a screen and get in the zone in the same way that I would in person. But we had to adapt ourselves to this virtual world and acting to the camera. I’m really thankful to have developed that skill. —Mozitis

This story originally appeared in the Oct. 7 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.