TheSharedScreen Co. is a 501c3 non-profit organization of artists, performers, writers, producers and directors pioneering a new artistic medium.
When New York shut down, a small acting master class determined to keep making art in isolation discovered that performing scenes recontextualized as simple Zoom calls between the characters created a surprising and incredibly intimate experience.
Bringing the audience eye-to-eye with each player, witnessing the play silently and invisibly from within, led us to greater theatrical intimacy than we could have imagined. Being inside the struggle of the play, inside the moment, inside the moral dilemma or ethical debate the writer has constructed, allows the debate to get inside of us in ways never before possible. No other medium allows for such intimacy or dramatic experience.
The master class, led by John Dapolito, became an incubator for works in this new medium.
To move this work from the virtual classroom to full, live productions on the virtual screen, Neal Davidson founded TheSharedScreen. He reached out to Stephen Belber for permission to adapt his hit play and successful indie film starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurmond into a Zoom call. It worked.
As artists and innovators, TheSharedScreen intends to explore the possibilities of this new medium by producing and hosting extraordinary and readily accessible professional theater. We intend to help establish the conventions and standards for acting, directing, writing, designing, producing, and innovating in online theater.
Along the way, we will share our innovations and artistic discoveries with others on the journey. We recently published a comprehensive description of the phenomenon of "Dramatic Betweenness" that includes a comprehensive guide for anyone wishing to write, act, direct, or produce works in this medium.
We welcome like-minded artists and all those who love live theater to reach out to us for more information about our activities.
Join us in the adventure.
On it together.
Neal Davidson - Founder
Neal is an actor, producer, writer, and coach who is passionate about fostering the creation of impactful, highly accessible work that changes the way we see one another. He was a national champion in speech and graduated summa cum laude from the theater program at Northwestern University in Chicago. A working actor in NYC, he established a studio for actors and writers to self-produce their work. Neal has trained with Larry Moss (intensives and coaching), Bob Krakower (film and TV), and John Dapolito (master scene study).
In February 2020, en route from playing Spike in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in Savannah, Georgia back to his apartment/studio in NYC, Neal was sidetracked along with thousands of other artists as the country began to shut down. Operating from the suburbs of Washington DC, and working virtually in his master class, Neal became convinced of the power of the unexpected phenomenon in Zoom he calls "Dramatic Betweenness." To make full productions in this new medium possible, he founded TheSharedScreen Co.
Neal also coaches actors who are auditioning or performing in online media, as well as presenters and educators how to deliver exciting and engaging content online. For more information, please go to his website.
Every Little Bit Helps!
Our mission is to make extraordinary live theater accessible to broad audiences as economically as possible, but it does take tons of time and some money to make it happen! If you would like to support us on this journey, you may make a tax-deductible donation to TheSharedScreen. We are a 501c3 non-profit corporation and your donation may be tax-deductible.
