Adelphi Students, Alumni to Present Live Virtual Theater Production About Life in Quarantine

Too Solid Flesh—Photo by Haley Franke, design by Laura Ryan.

Adelphi Performing Arts Center (PAC) is bringing a unique, interactive, virtual theater experience to a home screen near you. Too Solid Flesh, starring Adelphi students and alumni, explores youth in the midst of a pandemic, connections across screens and the dangerous undiscovered country of mental health in a world where it is lethal to touch. Performances will run May 17 through 24, on Zoom.

A cross-pollination of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and The Tempest, Too Solid Flesh is the story about an unconventional distance-learning institution where the students who hide behind screen names more often than not become the teacher. An anxiety-ridden pupil, O, tries to find a connection to save her from her thoughts and herself. The story will be brought to life through a mix of live performances, pre-recorded segments, app integration and more to create a virtual experience that is both interactive and immersive.

Too Solid Flesh is an Adelphi family affair, written by Megan Lohne ’04 and directed by Shoshanah Tarkow ’06, Adelphi alumnae and creators of Like Fresh Skin, a theater company utilizing emerging technologies to create text-based immersive theatrical experiences that champion untold feminist stories. The story is inspired by the real experiences of students displaced by and living in quarantine.

“Too Solid Flesh was birthed from a questionnaire I generated for Adelphi students that sought to capture what they were feeling in the midst of being quarantined in their childhood homes during the pandemic,” said Lohne. “I was humbled by the honest, hysterical and heartbreaking answers, which felt quite epic and, dare I say, Shakespearean.”

Lohne and Tarkow’s projects, Words Like Fresh Skin, Killer and now Too Solid Flesh, all embark on incorporating tech and emotional intimacy in new and innovative ways, inspired by the everyday, high stakes you can find in a raw, emotional moment.

“I have always been interested in exploring the cross-section of theater and technology,” said Tarkow. “I tried to see the physical limitations presented by our current situation as an opportunity to explore online communication platforms in new and innovative ways. I’m so proud of the entire creative team (four stage managers, three designers and 18 performers) for building something truly unique.”

To RSVP for one of the performances, email LikeFleshSkinrsvp@gmail.com. Instruction for viewing will be sent to attendees the day before the performance.