The Ram’s Head Theatrical Society invited students to submit musical project pitches for its spring musical, which will be performed virtually for the first time in the society’s 109-year history.

The group traditionally puts on a live spring musical once a year, but this year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Ram’s Head to adapt to a digital platform. The group encouraged all interested students to submit pitches for consideration, from which it will choose one to produce for the virtual Spring Musical.

This is not the group’s first experience creating a virtual production. Earlier this year, the organization put on an online fall production of Gaieties and is currently planning a member-written winter production of La Llorona. Kaitlyn Khayat ’21, the executive producer of Ram’s Head, said that the recent virtual shows were “a fantastic learning experience and I think we can only build on it from there for the spring show.”

Khayat said that she hopes this opportunity will prove valuable to students heading into the professional world of theater.

“Our vision is to open up this slot… and really allow people to do what they’re passionate about,” Khayat said. “I feel like theater should… allow people to artistically express what they’re feeling at the moment, and we didn’t feel that selecting a show ahead of time would do that mission justice.”

The organization had previously voted on a musical to produce for the spring, but due to regulations regarding licensing rights for digital performances, it selected a different play. By producing a musical pitched by students without licensing restrictions, Ram’s Head can avoid these obstacles. Any Stanford student, as long as they are currently enrolled or on a flex term, was eligible to submit a pitch for the musical. Students pitched in teams composed of two to four people, including a producer and director. The selected team will have producing and directing roles in the musical’s online production.

“All of the board members are really committed to the idea of having a show that not only centers stories of marginalized communities, but also has a cast that represents the diversity of Stanford’s campus,” said Jessica Fry ̕21, a Ram’s Head board member.

Ram’s Head is particularly interested in pitches that represent that purpose, according to Fry.

The musical, which is set to be performed sometime between weeks three and five of the spring quarter, will be produced fully online. Ram’s Head is unwilling to put any person’s health at risk, “especially because we don’t know how to do in-person safely right now,” Khayat said.

“We wanted to make sure that we’re taking care of our members, first and foremost, before we take care of the production,” Chloe Chow ̕23, a Ram’s Head member, said.

“To anyone interested in theater, it’s a great opportunity for you to have your own individual vision come to life while having the resources of a larger institution,” Fry said. “We want people to walk away from a show… having the feeling of being in a community.”

Contact Lana Levison at lanalevison ‘at’ gmail.com.