By Audrey Lin

Nearly five years after COVID-19’s initial outbreak across the U.S., a panel of three Humanities and Fine Arts faculty members gathered to unpack its impacts on film, the performing arts, writing and academia for a UC Santa Barbara audience.

Letty García, an assistant professor in UCSB’s Department of Theater and Dance, speaking on how quarantine pushed the boundaries of traditional theater and a recent HFA Speaks event.

While quarantine fostered artistic innovation and collective creativity, it also altered university education and student learning in both positive and negative ways, according to the speakers.

Letty García, an assistant professor in the Department of Theater and Dance, said attending online rehearsals and innovative Zoom productions pushed the boundaries of traditional theater.

“The pandemic took us back to this point of community, which is what theater is all about. And I think it really opened up these avenues of access that were possible,” said Garcia.

She was speaking alongside Nathan Roberts, a lecturer in Film and Media Studies, and Nomi Morris, a continuing lecturer in the Writing Program.

Garcia described online rehearsals and productions which pushed the boundaries of traditional theater.  “Theater has its origins in community, and the original storytellers are the first indigenous people everywhere,” she said.  “It is something that everybody has access to but has become this high art, protected thing. And the pandemic was able to break us free from that a little bit.”

Additionally, García pointed out the ways streaming has changed engagement with theater —not just film. For example, Britain’s Royal National Theatre launched National Theatre Live and National Theatre at Home to livestream theatrical productions and make them available on demand.

UCSB’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts held its quarterly “HFA Speaks” faculty panel on COVID-19’s five year legacy.

Nathan Roberts, who has taught a course at UCSB about the impact of COVID-19 on movie-going habits and consumer behavior, said research showed a 33% drop in the number of people going to movie theaters in 2024 as compared to 2019, with COVID-19 as a major disruptor.

While there has been a resurgence in art house film screenings in major creative hubs like Los Angeles and New York City, Roberts calls them a “niche privilege” rather than a cinematic staple. Additionally, he said the pandemic altered people’s notions of “closeness.”

“I have definitely noticed people laughing a lot in the movies,” Roberts said. “Someone might argue that that sense of being with other people and responding to them is part of the joy of going to the movies.”

All three professors experienced firsthand how academia adapted during the quarantine, which altered both student practices and teaching pedagogy.

“There is more informality between faculty and students, that came with that period of being flexible and understanding what students were going through,” said Morris, of the Writing Program. “I think students are still feeling the effects of trauma.”

“Students were already inclined to communicate via text and not pick up the phone. So, it has become even harder to get students over that hump of personal connection with other people,” said Morris, particularly as it relates to journalism students who need to meet face-to-face with their sources.

Nomi Morris, a Continuing Lecturer in UCSB’s Writing Program, left, and Nathan Roberts, a Lecturer in Film and Media Studies, discussing how academia adapted during the quarantine, which altered both student practices and teaching pedagogy.

Roberts agreed that the pandemic has changed the way students learn. “Students have a lot more trouble following along in a lecture that is more of a literary or oratorical form,” he said.

Alexandra Alarcon, a fourth-year UCSB student majoring in Sociology, is the HFA Web and Social Media intern who moderated the panel.

García, of the Theater and Dance department, highlighted the need for connection and explained how digital methods have made her rethink her teaching pedagogy and communication styles.

The restructuring of academia happened on an institutional level, the panelists said, with high rates of retirement during and immediately after the pandemic. As well, faculty members shifted courses into electronic formats and used new technologies, many of which have remained part of their teaching practice post-quarantine.

Audrey Lin is a second-year Writing & Literature major at UC Santa Barbara. They are a Web and Social Media intern with the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Please click below to watch a video of the entire event.