Reviewed by:

• Seven Deadly Sins by Hilary Bettis et al.
• Horacio Sierra

On a day when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 2,439 Americans died from COVID-19, those of us who ventured to see Miami New Drama’s Seven Deadly Sins were not hard pressed to wonder which of these ancient sins we committed by attending an in-person theatrical performance. Did we exhibit Pride by betting masks, handwashing, and keeping six feet apart would be enough to save us from infection? Were we guilty of Gluttony because, after nine months of being quarantined from live entertainment, we were consumed by our insatiable desire to see artists in the flesh? Within the context of closing out a year marred by pandemic, racial unrest, and hostile political gamesmanship, the universal themes and timely issues presented in this experimental series of seven, ten-minute vignettes underscored that we were not the first to pose such questions and we would not be the last.

Miami New Drama artistic director Michel Haus-mann hatched his idea for Seven Deadly Sins while strolling down Miami Beach’s sparsely populated Lincoln Road, a pedestrian street usually teeming with tourists and locals. Having noticed the number of the storefronts shuttered and hoping for a way to revitalize the commercial strip, Hausmann envisioned the storefronts as makeshift theatres. He commissioned a diverse group of playwrights of four men and three women, five of whom are Hispanic and two of whom are non-Hispanic Black, to write the scripts. With the help of COVID-19 safety protocols approved by the Actors’ Equity Association, the company presented a safe way for performers, crew members, and audience members to enjoy live theatre.

The Colony Theater’s box office provided audience members with a wristband marked with a deadly sin. They were then asked to have drinks and appetizers at Purgatory, a pop-up bar located in the center of Lincoln Road. The Mistress of Purgatory (Kareem Khouri) serenaded the audience with songs before they were divided into groups based on their designated sin. Guides bearing electric torches escorted each group from stage to stage and morphed into COVID-19 safety protocol enforcers.

Six storefront windows as well as the Colony’s street-facing cargo door served as stages; twelve chairs spaced individually and in pairs in front of [End Page 234] each stage served as seating. Theatregoers were given headphones that they plugged into receivers fastened to each chair so they could hear dialogue and sound effects. In perhaps the most interesting seating arrangement, since the cargo door for the Colony faces Lenox Avenue, half of the audience sat in chairs in a parking spot and the other half sat across the street in chairs assembled on the sidewalk opposite the theatre while cars and trucks barreled through the audience.

Two adjoining storefront windows serve as the stages for Seven Deadly Sin’s Pride and Sloth, where Stephen G. Anthony (John C. Calhoun) and Sandi Stock (Regina) perform. The play won the 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Interactive or Socially Distanced Theater. (Photo: Justin Swader.)

Despite the risk-taking involved in attending live theatre as the pandemic raged, the very act of seeing Seven Deadly Sins felt less sinful than life affirming. The spectacle of staging a production that upheld COVID-19 safety protocols and the strangeness of seeing a play while being watched by passersby enjoying an evening on Miami Beach treated the audience like it too was an ensemble of actors. This heady amalgamation of fear and daring created a thrilling atmosphere where the lines between actors and audience, exhibitionist and voyeur, conscientious citizen and salacious scofflaw were shattered. As fascinating as the safety precautions were, the playwrights and directors did a fine job ensuring that the logistics of how to perform during a pandemic did not overshadow the artistic merits of their work.

The seven deadly sins have proven a...

审核人：

• 希拉里贝蒂斯等人的七大罪。
• 奥拉西奥·塞拉

在美国疾病控制与预防中心报告有 2,439 名美国人死于 COVID-19 的那天，我们这些冒险观看迈阿密新剧《七大罪》的人不难想知道我们通过参加面对面的戏剧表演犯了哪些古老的罪过。我们是否通过押注口罩、洗手和保持六英尺的距离来展示骄傲就足以使我们免于感染？我们是否对暴食感到内疚，因为在与现场娱乐隔离九个月后，我们被我们无法满足的渴望看到艺术家的肉体所吞噬？在被大流行、种族骚乱和敌对的政治诡计所破坏的一年结束的背景下，这个由七个、十分钟的小插曲组成的实验系列中提出的普遍主题和及时问题强调，我们并不是第一个提出此类问题的人，我们不会是最后一个。

迈阿密新剧艺术总监米歇尔·豪斯曼 (Michel Haus-mann)漫步在迈阿密海滩人烟稀少的林肯路 (Lincoln Road) 时，萌生了创作《七大罪》的想法，这条步行街通常挤满了游客和当地人。注意到关闭的店面数量并希望有办法振兴商业街，豪斯曼将店面设想为临时剧院。他委托了一个由四男三女组成的多元化剧作家团队来编写剧本，其中五位是西班牙裔，两位是非西班牙裔黑人。在演员权益协会批准的 COVID-19 安全协议的帮助下，该公司为表演者、工作人员和观众提供了一种享受现场戏剧的安全方式。

殖民地剧院的票房为观众提供了一个标有致命罪孽的腕带。然后他们被要求在位于林肯路中心的弹出式酒吧炼狱喝饮料和开胃菜。炼狱女主人 (Kareem Khouri) 在观众根据他们指定的罪被分成小组之前用歌曲小夜曲。手持手电筒的向导护送每个小组从一个舞台到另一个舞台，并演变成 COVID-19 安全协议执行者。

六个店面窗户以及殖民地面向街道的货舱门充当舞台；[End Page 234]前面有十二把椅子单独成对地隔开，每个舞台都用作座位。剧院观众获得了耳机，他们将耳机插入固定在每把椅子上的接收器中，这样他们就可以听到对话和音效。也许是最有趣的座位安排，因为殖民地的货舱门面向莱诺克斯大道，一半的观​​众坐在停车场的椅子上，另一半坐在街对面的椅子上，椅子组装在剧院对面的人行道上，而汽车和卡车冲过观众席。

两个相邻的店面橱窗是七大罪的傲慢与懒惰的舞台，斯蒂芬·G·安东尼（约翰·C·卡尔霍恩）和桑迪·斯托克（里贾纳）在那里表演。该剧获得了 2021 年戏剧联盟杰出互动或社交距离戏剧奖。（照片：贾斯汀·斯瓦德。）

尽管在大流行肆虐时参加现场剧院需要冒险，但看到七大罪的行为本身就没有肯定生命的罪恶感。上演支持 COVID-19 安全协议的作品的奇观，以及在迈阿密海滩享受夜晚的路人观看戏剧的奇怪之处，也让观众像一群演员一样对待。这种恐惧与大胆的令人兴奋的融合创造了一种激动人心的氛围，演员与观众、裸露者与偷窥者、尽职尽责的公民和淫荡的蔑视者之间的界限被打破。与安全预防措施一样令人着迷，剧作家和导演做得很好，确保在大流行期间如何表演的后勤工作不会掩盖他们作品的艺术价值。

七大罪已经证明...