Defibrillating live presentations in the digital: adapting live student performances for web conferencing platforms

In April 2020, the live stage performance “Ties That Bind”, devised by students of National University of Singapore’s TS3101 Theatre Lab, fell victim to Singapore’s Circuit Breaker lockdown measures. With the abrupt cancellation of performance events and closure of theatre venues, the students, in collaboration with theatre development organisation Centre 42, adapted their performance for the Zoom web conferencing platform. In a few short weeks, they produced an improvised performance that not only fulfilled the intentions of the original work, but also took advantage of the performance opportunities afforded by the Zoom platform. This paper examines the technological interventions and digital solutions applied to the adaptation, its impact on learning outcomes, and finally, explores the pedagogical implications of mapping live performances online.