The writing of Rock Out with Your Schnoz Out: The COVID Play started in mid-January 2020, when I first became aware of the impending COVID-19 pandemic – not from the news, but from an American friend who was living in Beijing at the time. As I followed her experiences through Facebook, I was subconsciously aware of the lack of information that many in North America (Canada and the U.S.) had about what was coming. I felt caught in a contradictory bind of knowing deep down the abrupt change that was about to happen and wanting to hold on to normalcy for as long as possible. I went to Chimes the last night before the shutdown in Baton Rouge (March 16, the day before St. Paddy’s Day). And contrary to what those who know me might think, I had no knowledge of Zoom until the Friday before, when a staff meeting was switched to virtual last minute because the person leading it had just flown in from out of town and didn’t want to risk everyone else’s health.

        The next two years were a blur, a slowly moving-stationary-figure-out-how-to-be-productive-again blur in which time took on a sense of non-meaning. While interactions were more limited, observations of how people, groups, and institutions reacted and dealt with the sudden and abrupt change became the source material for what you see in Rock Out. This performance is the culmination of two years (and more) of hastily scribbled down notes and half-formed ideas jotted down in my cell phone every time I saw/heard/experienced something that made me scratch my head. Made me wonder why? Made me question my own reactions. Not everything made it in, and much more was added by the performers’ – experiences of “WTF” moments during the pandemic. With the exception of the “Masc for Mask” scene, which was written by Seth Knievel (dating during the pandemic), these discussions of our varied experiences started as improvisations during rehearsal, which I then took home and scripted using the style of not-quite-appropriate satire inspired by my own performance background in clowning and drag, and the Canadian sketch group, “Kids in the Hall.” The overall structure is based on the style of the 1970s variety show – or more specifically, “Viva Variety,” a spoof of 1970s variety shows that aired from 1997-1999 on Comedy Central – creating a celebratory atmosphere with the goal of using laughter as collective healing.