Many theaters across the globe are finding themselves closed and unable to host performances, and some theatrical companies are taking new measures to broadcast live theatre in creative ways, this time with The Sims 4. One player in particular is using The Sims 4 to put a creative spin on Chekhov's classic play The Seagull.
The Sims 4 has long been a game that players find a lot of ways to be creative in, and the global pandemic has forced many people to be especially creative and innovative when it comes to sharing the arts. In Celine Song's case, The Sims 4 becomes the stage for Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. The Russian playwright is often hailed as one of Europe's best modern playwrights, and The Seagull is a family drama and one of his most well-known works.
As part of the New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Instigators program, Song recruited the help of her Twitch audience to build each of the "actors" in CAS. TS4's Create-a-Sim function is used to give Sims their clothes, physical appearance, and traits, all of which Song and her audience used to make their versions of The Seagull's characters - with a modern spin. Masha, for example, is cited as wearing black "mourning clothes" in the very beginning of the play, so Song's version of the character gave her a dark emo jacket and the Loner trait.
Although wrangling the Sims turned out to be a difficult task (as any Sims player will know), major props have to be given for someone who's taking a The Sims 4 reenactment one step further to do what they love. Who knows, video games may become a more common platform for theatrical reenactments as people experiment more and more.
The Sims 4 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.