Theatre students and alumni came together to put on a live drive-in show.

Collin College’s Theatre Department puts together a drive-in show featuring live music and skits

Collin College’s Theatre Department created a stage where people could see live performances from the safety of their own vehicles, called Park-A-Palooza. Another set of live performances is scheduled for Oct. 29-31.

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many of the college’s events have been cancelled, postponed, or moved to a virtual format. However, Collin College’s Theatre Department wanted to do something different while still being safe.

“We decided to put together a show that would bring a live audience to a live performance safely,” said Theatre Professor Robin Armstrong.

Collin College Theatre Department puts on a live show for a live audience.

Park-A-Palooza, directed by Armstrong with music direction by Scott Eckert, is an endeavor by the Theatre Department that includes an evening of songs, monologues, and radio skits performed live by students and alumni in the parking lot of the Plano Campus (Spring Creek). The performances are broadcast via radio to an audience sitting in the comfort of their vehicles.

After about a month of in-person rehearsals while socially distancing wearing masks, the team performed its first shows to a sold-out audience, Oct. 22-24. 

“The true reason the show is such a success is because of the hard work and creative genius of Craig “Yo” Erickson (set designer), Tom Hull (lighting designer), and Andrew Duckworth (sound designer),” Armstrong said. “These three made this enormous undertaking possible.”

In addition to the technical aspects of the show, lights and sound also need to be set up and taken down for every performance.

“The organizational whiz kids behind this Herculean task are Theatre Professor Renee Dessommes and Breanna Gaddis, the student stage manager of the show,” Armstrong said. “They oversee the cast and other student stagehands, rolling out all of the equipment, setting it up, running the show, taking it all down, and putting it all back. Rinse and repeat as needed for each performance.”

The team will perform once again Oct. 29-31 at 7:30 p.m. at the northwest parking lot of the Plano Campus.

“Park-A-Palooza represents the best of what theatre is: a creative team of people, determined to soldier on and provide their audiences with a unique experience and, hopefully, a fond memory for life,” Armstrong said.

Tickets are free; however, a reservation is needed to be allowed into the production (one ticket per carload). For tickets, please visit collin.universitytickets.com.