The Road Back: Q&A IV - All About APT at Home

The Mountaintop (featuring Gavin Lawrence and Sola Thompson, seen here in rehearsal) opens next week! In-person tickets to this particular play are very limited, but there's another option: "APT at Home" digital plays! Read all about this new service in this week's The Road Back.

Due to the very limited capacity in the Touchstone Theatre, tickets sold out fast (though there are currently a few seats available; contact the APT Box Office for details at 608-588-2361). The good news is that if you can't see The Mountaintop at APT, you can see the production from the comfort of your living room. Those digital play tickets are on sale now (scroll to the bottom of the page for the recorded performances), though the plays won’t be available to watch until a bit later. We can explain that, and answer the many other questions rolling in about APT at Home, so let's talk through what these filmed performances are and how they'll function.

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What is APT at Home?
APT at Home digital plays are filmed and edited productions of the 2021 season plays. They will be shot over the course of one rehearsal and the first preview performance of each play, in front of a live (25% capacity) audience. The idea is to make the at-home viewing experience as much like being at APT as possible.

Will all the plays be filmed?
They will! Every play this season, in both the Hill and Touchstone Theatres, will be filmed, and tickets will be available via the APT website. APT at Home tickets are on sale now for The Mountaintop and An Improbable Fiction. And if you’re ready to see some live theater, there are still some in-person tickets available for An Improbable Fiction. APT at Home tickets will go on sale for the rest of the Summer Season plays three to four weeks before the first performance, along with the in-person tickets.

Who is creating them?
The production company that will be shooting and editing the APT at Home plays is HMS Media in Chicago. Filming plays is sort of their thing – they’ve been shooting stage productions in Chicago at theaters the likes of Lookingglass and Steppenwolf, and know how to translate stage to screen in a way that feels organic and engaging. Using a three camera set-up will get them all the angles they need to give the at-home audience a good view of the full stage, while getting in tight for close-ups during the moments when you want to be right in the middle of the action. We’re very excited to be working with them, and for our audience to see APT in this new way.

When can I watch?
Each APT at Home play will be available about 10 days after the first performance of the in-person play, and will close on the closing night of that play. So, for example, tickets for the APT at Home production of The Mountaintop are on sale now. Ticket purchasers will receive a confirmation email with a link to the performance. On May 26 (10 days after the first performance of The Mountaintop), that link will become live, and the viewer can watch the play, one-time only, whenever they like before the play closes on June 19.

I’m confused about the APT at Home pricing. How does that work?
APT at Home ticket prices are $32 for a single viewer, $44 for two viewers and $52 for 3 or more. When checking out, simply select the number of viewers you’ll have with you watching the play when the time comes. One important factor: your party will all need to be viewing together in the same location. Links to the APT at Home performances are unique and can’t be shared with another household. (And for all of you sweet people who’ve been concerned that folks are playing fair with their self-selected pricing, we can only say there’s no way for us to tell how many people are with you when you watch. But we trust you).

Can I watch the play on my TV?
There are ways to make that happen! The easiest option is to use Chrome Casting, AirPlay or screen mirroring to play the stream from your phone, laptop or other device to your TV. You can also use an HDMI cable to connect your computer to the TV. If your TV can access a web browser, you can open that browser and log into your email. From there, you can open the email we sent you and click on your link to stream.

What if I can’t get my digital play to work?
If you have any trouble watching your APT at Home play, check out this troubleshooting document tips. And if you continue to have problems, our friendly Box Office staff is available to help you by phone at 608-588-2361 Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm, or until 15 minutes past curtain time on performance nights and Sundays, 2:30 pm - 6:15 pm. Open at 11 am for Sunday matinees. Or you can email them at [email protected] and someone will get back with help as soon as they can.

Next week: Our FINAL regularly scheduled The Road Back will bring back Artistic Director Brenda DeVita with an update on all that we’ve learned, and all that’s still to come.