Land Acknowledgment

I want to acknowledge that the land that I am writing this on originally belonged to the Kizh Nation (pronounced “keech”). They inhabited all of Los Angeles County as well as parts of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernadino counties. The Spanish forcibly removed the Kizh Nation from their land in the 1700s. Through assimilation to the Spanish culture and forced labor at the San Gabriel Mission, they have also been called Gabrieleno. The Kizh nation still exists living on the land of their ancestors. They are not yet federally recognized by the U.S. government. This land acknowledgment serves to honor and respect their past and present as the original inhabitants of this land.

The Pandemic Problem

Over the last 225 days our lives have transformed. The Walt Disney Company announced on March 12 that the Disneyland Resort would be closing its doors temporarily. For me, this was when the gravity of COVID-19 hit. The resort had previously only closed three times for a length longer than the time in between operating days. Once for the national day of mourning after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, another time in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake, and on September 11, 2001 following the attack on the World Trade Center. With one of the world’s largest theatrical experiences closed, artists and performers everywhere feared the effects of COVID-19 on their careers. Many were left wondering what the future of theatre would look like. Larger theatre companies have posted previously recorded performances so the world can still experience theatre while stuck at home (If you want to read more on that, go look at our previous blog post). Some companies are doing live, virtual productions. But to me, there is one app that may save theatre for all of us: TikTok.

TikTok and the Arts

If you’re not familiar with TikTok, it is an app where people can create and post either 15 or 60 second videos of virtually anything.  Entire stories can be told in just seconds. Theatre is essentially just glorified storytelling. So it is no surprise that many young hopefuls flocked to the app to show off their talents. Gen Z teens make up most of the users. They upload videos of dancing, singing, acting, creating short stories, comedy sketches, posting tutorials, all kinds of things. But the app is arguably most well-known for its viral dances. These are done to songs like “Renegade” by K CAMP and “Say So” by Doja Cat. The most recent dance was to “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.  Many users never would have had the chance to get up in front of an audience. Now, they are able to dance for infinitely more people by posting their videos on the app. At first, it may not seem like it, but these teens are producing art that could potentially save the theatre industry.

It goes without saying that this is a pivotal time for all performing arts. A line from the opening number of the 72nd Annual Tony Awards stuck out to me. Sarah Bareilles and Josh Groban sing “What lasts are the stories and how we all feel. These shows help us open our hearts and heal. In a world that is scary and hard to endure, if you make art at all you’re part of the cure.” That is exactly how I see everyone producing theatrical content on TikTok. It may not be how we want to experience theatre and performing arts. But, it is what we can do to help the world heal.

 

Professional Artist to TikTok Star

Professional performers from all areas of the arts have started making tiktoks. Principal dancers from American Ballet Theatre James Whiteside (@jamesbwhiteside) and Isabella Boylston (@isabellaboylston) have been producing a ton of dance tiktoks. One of my favorites is Isabella recreating a clip of the iconic final dance scene from Center Stage (2000). Katie Jo (@katiejoyofosho) was on TikTok prior to COVID-19 creating the #maninamusical series with her husband and has continued making other theatre related videos. Dewey of @deweyspianoparty is an NYC pianist who has been posting the accompaniment of various songs for users to duet with on the app. He currently has over 120 songs available, most of which are common audition cuts of those songs. This is a perfect way to update your audition song book that probably hasn’t been touched in months. Lastly, I want to quickly mention Jonathan Hoover and his @inappropriatepatti account. This one is on Instagram so it technically doesn’t count but I couldn’t pass this opportunity to share this page. The entire page is a parody of Patti LuPone and it is truly sensational.

A Vision of the Future

TikTok provides a way for the professional performers to continue to share their art. For teens, they are able to experience and interact with performing arts in a modern, accessible way. It is a way to learn about the arts and step out of your comfort zone to try something new. I sincerely hope that these teens who are posting these videos continue their work. My vision of the future is that post COVID-19, these teens will branch out into other areas of the arts. The only way theatre arts can stay alive is with interest and engagement from younger generations. I believe that TikTok is the perfect place to foster that interest.

Stay positive, test negative, and wash your damn hands,

Kenny Giles
He/Him/His
Digital Internship Participant
University of Arizona ’20
BGS Arts, Media, and Entertainment