Just because most indoor screening venues are closed on-Island doesn’t mean the community can’t enjoy some impressive performances from local talent.
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival (MVFF) and the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard are offering a Winter Drive-In this year as a continuation of their Summer Drive-In, next to the Ice Arena, with all sorts of collaborative content and simulcasts from live performances that are sure to keep you at the edge of your (car) seat.
On Dec. 18 and 19, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School drama department will share a video performance of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with songs from the Minnesingers, all mixed into one homemade Zoom show. The screening will start at 6:30 pm on both days, and another is being added on Dec. 19 because the prior events are almost sold out. Reservations are required online prior to the show.
The Rise Dance crew showcased some of its prerecorded holiday content on the big screen last weekend. Along with the “It’s a Wonderful Life” performance — that’s sure to get you in the spirit.
On Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4:30 pm, the Martha’s Vineyard Figure Skating Club will have its Holiday Exhibition simulcast live on the big screen. As skaters are performing on the rink, families and friends can watch from outside, snug in their vehicles with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket.
Programming director for the MVFF Brian Ditchfield said bringing the drive-in back for the winter will be “a great experiment for us and the community that we are really excited to embark upon.”
He said he is happy that MVFF is partnering with other community organizations and groups to make events happen this winter, and provide a viewing venue at a time when indoor screenings are not possible.
Ditchfield said the Drive-In would not be possible without the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard, and thanked them for their ongoing collaboration.
According to Ditchfield, the collaborative effort between MVFF Labs (the festival’s education program) and students at MVRHS illustrates just how creative the performing arts community can be during a difficult time. “Although all the students are virtual, they are recording a performance of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ over Zoom. MVFF is going to be recording the Minnesingers for that as well, and that will be part of the video,” Ditchfield said.
MVRHS theater instructor Brooke Hardman Ditchfield said the faculty and students in the performing arts department have had to pivot rapidly with the constant changes and cancellations, but she thinks, “We have something really special with this, not just for the students, but for the entire community.”
The plan for “It’s a Wonderful Life” had originally been to produce it as a live radio play at the drive-in, with several theater classes from the high school, but then Hardman Ditchfield said she was notified that the live play would not be possible because of an uptick in COVID cases.
Hardman Ditchield said theater students and Minnesingers have worked hard to make this initiative happen. Over the past several weeks, students have constructed sets in their own homes, acquired their stage costumes, and recorded the entire play through Zoom by cutting together different scenes.
MVY Radio will also be airing the performance as a radio play, simultaneously with the drive-in screening.
“For theater students and kids involved in these extracurricular activities, it has pretty much been disappointment after disappointment,” Hardman Ditchfield said, “having to tell them this is canceled and that is canceled, so this has felt like a real triumph to come together and create a performance when we can’t actually be together physically.”
To get a ticket for the “It’s a Wonderful Life” performance, fill out the online form here.
The MV Film Center is currently open and showing movies and performances for the screen with safe, social distanced seating of no more than 50 (as stipulated by Stage 3, Step 1 protocols). Check out our web site for schedule.