Creekside Middle School sixth-grader Sadie Cohen was able to appear in Broadway Artists Alliance Onstage’s production of “Dear Edwina Online Edition” without ever leaving her Carmel home.
Cohen appeared in the live virtual streaming Jan. 23-24 of the children’s musical.
“It was cool to sit down and see everything come together with the voices and the editing,” Cohen said. “All we did was send in short little audio recordings and they took the 25 voices together. It was all in sync. The videos were filmed in front of green screens. They were able to put all our videos together and make it all look amazing and like a show.”
Cohen, 12, performs as Aphrodite and has a featured solo in one cast. In another cast, she appeared as a Napkin Sister. Cohen appears in all of the ensemble scenes in both shows.
Broadway Artists Alliance’s Jimmy Larkin, who served as assistant director, praised Cohen’s work.
“From the auditions to rehearsals and through the whole editing process, Sadie was an absolute pleasure to work with,” Larkin said. “She is an incredibly talented girl whose passion and dedication was palpable, even through a computer screen. I have no doubt that her gifts and admirable work ethic will take her far.”
The production gave Cohen her first experience with green screens and lip synching. The rehearsals were conducted on Zoom.
Cohen performed in the title role of “Dear Edwina” in her West Clay Elementary School production in early March 2020.
“It was fun to see how different each of the shows were with the different choreography,” she said.
Cohen, who is attending school virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was pleased just to perform.
“I’ve been bored through quarantine,” she said. “Getting to do this took up a lot of time and it was exciting.”
Cohen was performing in “Fun Home” at Footlite Musicals prior to mid-March 2020 lockdown. The final weekend of performances were canceled.
Cohen had attended Broadway Artists Alliance’s weeklong intensive program in New York City in the summer of 2019. She plans to return in August if it can be held safely.
