BWW Blog: Theatre Unmasked - How Giselle Muise's Virtual Theatre Company is Making Art Accessible for All

Missing Broadway? Look no further than the comfort of your own couch.

Giselle Muise, an NYC-Based Theatre Creator, has always had a love for theatre. Once the pandemic hit, she knew she had to do something.

"We did not start with the intention of building a theatre company;" says Muise, "it started because we were two months into the pandemic and hungry for theatre. We decided to create an open Zoom call for play-readings and talk-back about the text."

The result? Theatre Unmasked; a virtual theatre company that prides itself on being open to any and all who wish to participate.

Since its creation last May, Theatre Unmasked has hosted virtual play festivals with international participants from multiple countries and six different time zones, as well as weekly play readings on Fridays at 8:30pm ET, often including the playwright themself. These sessions typically consist of readings of three short (10 minute) plays.

"We do our best to bring marginalized voices to light through the material we choose, as well as provide whatever resources we can to differently-abled people so they can participate as well. We are always open to suggestions on how we can improve our accessibility." Says Brynne Piesco, Theatre Unmasked's Marketing director.

In the coming days, Theatre Unmasked will be offering a workshop series, as well as a second virtual play festival. The first workshop of the series, "Directing for Zoom", will be taking place on January 25th. The virtual play festival will be happening at the end of February. Everyone is free to submit their plays, as well as perform and/or observe. Theatre Unmasked is ALWAYS accepting new plays, playwrights, actors, directors, techies, and more. Weekly topics are posted for inspiration/ a prompt for playwrights. In play reading sessions, the plays chosen match the theme of the week (as posted on their Instagram page).

And the best part? All of Theatre Unmasked's offerings are completely, 100% FREE.

"[Our meetings are] very low pressure, and we welcome people of all skill levels;" says Piesco, "it's great for the experienced actor looking to make connections, as well as those at an introductory level who want to learn more about theatre as an artform."

NO audition is required to participate, and Zoom meetings are only recorded if specifically requested by a playwright.

The theatre company is run completely remotely, over three different states, by Theatre Unmasked's Board of Directors (as follows):

Giselle Muise (@giselle_my_bell on Instagram) - Founder/ Artistic Director

Brynne Piesco (@brynneburger on Instagram) - Marketing Director

Shayne McCatty (@MrMcCatty on Instagram) - Literary Director

Nicholas "Nich" Hipple (@Nichhipple on Instagram) - Partnerships Director

If you'd like to get involved with Theatre Unmasked, you can find more information at their Instagram page (@theatreunmasked) and their Facebook page.

Because of people like Giselle Muise and her innovative theatre company, art continues to grow, thrive, and most importantly, inspire.