The Show Must Go On: AUC’s First-Ever Zoom Play

By: Maya Abouelnasr
@EmEn1125 

Photo: Screenshot from the Imaginary Invalid Zoom play

The Arts Department kicked off the Fall 2020 theater season with the dramatic comedy The Imaginary Invalid, AUC’s first-ever Zoom-adapted play.  

The Imaginary Invalid is an adaptation of the French playwright Molière’s 1673 play of the same name, which follows a wealthy hypochondriac, Argan, as he tries to marry his daughter, Angelica, off to the son of a doctor so that he can receive free healthcare and get rid of his endless medical bills. 

Toinette, their witty housekeeper, knows Angelica had her heart set on marrying someone else and spends the play working to foil Argan’s plans in an amusing series of events. 

Associate Professor of Practice in the Arts Department John Hoey, who was one of the writers and the creative consultant, said that their biggest accomplishment was that they found a way to effectively employ Zoom and illustrate that it can be used as a unique performance platform going forward.

“We’re all proud that what we created doesn’t just work in the situation that we came out of; it could work in multiple other situations as well,” he said.

He added that most university theater programs that he knows of have shut down and have not considered the online world as a feasible alternative stage. 

The play, originally set in 17th century Paris, was recreated in 2020’s Cairo.

It featured three actor-controlled puppets and contained a wealth of satire that provided a socio-political commentary on greedy doctors misleading customers to purchase more medication than necessary.

This socio-political issue was a common feature of 17th century France, during which the medical profession was highly regarded. 

This was especially the case after advancements to medical knowledge helped contain the Black Death, the deadliest human pandemic caused by the bubonic plague that lasted from 1346 until 1353. This changed public perception by sensationalizing the field for its heroic successes.

In addition to its socio-political commentary, the play had a number of memorable talking points, from the vibrant oranges, pinks, yellows and blues of the green screen set design to Argan’s farcical displays.

Argan is first seen sorting through his endless medical bills before he screams and flails his arms, calling for Toinette and saying that he could “die of rage” before dramatically flopping back in his chair for several seconds.

A memorable scene from the third and final act is when Toinette poses as a doctor to present Argan with hilariously awful medical advice and ultimately dissuade him from participating in any outdoor or social activity and thus, cancelling the wedding. 

Donning a fake mustache and a graduate cap with a dark pink graduation robe, Toinette, as the unnamed doctor, asks Argan a series of questions relating to whether he has experienced various symptoms in a very matter-of-fact tone. 

The last questions see Toinette ask Argan if his eyes water and if his arm hurts, following which she recommends that he have one of his eyes removed and his arm cut off to resolve this. Argan replies in a hysterical tone and with a panicked look on his face at the extreme diagnoses, which amusingly reaffirms his blind belief in the medical field.

Hisham Abdel Razek, director and Mechanical Engineering and Theater alumnus, explained that the play was a product of the power of belief and perseverance to stage a performance in light of unique technological challenges. 

“I think our biggest accomplishment is that we continued to believe in each other, no matter what obstacles we faced. More often than not, it felt like we were driving through a dark tunnel with no lights, but we kept driving no matter what,” Abdel Razek said.

He added that this belief in each other was especially crucial to the play’s success, as the nine actors were in isolated cubicles with only green screens, laptops, cameras and headphones. 

Three of the nine actors performed from the Gerhart Theater and the remaining six from the Malak Gabr Theater in AUC’s New Cairo campus. 

The actors had to trust that the others would be on cue, while pretending they could see each other. In reality, the actors were simply looking at signals on the wall or floor to match the direction of the other actors’ Zoom screens.

Abdel Razek commented on new technical difficulties that arose on opening night, namely Gerhart Theater having better internet connection than Malak Gabr. Some of the actors’ mics became muffled and some were even kicked out of Zoom entirely.

“I’m very proud of everyone for carrying on no matter what. And that’s the spirit of theater, which was really put to the test,” he said. 

In the play, mockery of Argan’s hypochondriac tendencies largely come from the housekeeper, Toinette, who was played by Communication and Media Arts and English and Comparative Literature sophomore Heidi Aref.

Aref said that she enjoyed the banter and back-and-forth exchanges her character had with Argan while mocking his flawed, blind belief in the medical profession.

“Her [Toinette’s] character fits into the story so well as the kind of person who is looking in on this world that Argan is living in and says something about it,” Aref said.

Having acted in various theater productions in high school, she said that this is unlike anything she – or anyone in the cast – has ever done before, which made her first involvement in an AUC production more exciting.

She added that one of the biggest moral takeaways is taking medical advice with a grain of salt. Aref remarked that this is especially relevant now, as some people are quickly taking any doctors’ recommendations to quell their worries. 

The Imaginary Invalid was broadcast live via Zoom mid-October, and a rebroadcast stream link was sent to attendees.