7 Secrets of Teaching Online by Evelyn Jean Pine

March 2020: A pandemic rages. College campuses across America close. In a panic, five college professors sign up for a course: 7 SECRETS OF TEACHING ONLINE. The class is relentlessly upbeat. Yet, an imposter is unmasked, careers are destroyed, lovers are cast out, grown men weep, secrets are betrayed, babies are born, families reunite, make-shift desks are littered with take-out boxes, and, of course, one...
March 2020: A pandemic rages. College campuses across America close. In a panic, five college professors sign up for a course: 7 SECRETS OF TEACHING ONLINE. The class is relentlessly upbeat. Yet, an imposter is unmasked, careers are destroyed, lovers are cast out, grown men weep, secrets are betrayed, babies are born, families reunite, make-shift desks are littered with take-out boxes, and, of course, one lucky professor gets to sleep with the delivery person. (This play is developed to be performed in the theatre or via ZOOM.)
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7 Secrets of Teaching Online

Recommended by

  • Playwrights Foundation:
    28 Dec. 2022
    “ The community of national & local readers for the 45th Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 2022 enthusiastically recommends 7 SECRETS OF TEACHING ONLINE as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were deeply moved by this play's perspective on pandemic learning from the educators' point of view. This play acutely and satirically captures the precarious existences of higher education’s exploited adjunct lecturer workforce. We were compelled by this play's promise in its clear characters, structure, and intrigue. We hope this play is widely read, finds dedicated collaborators, and moves swiftly towards production. #BAPF2022 ”
  • Diane Sampson:
    7 Aug. 2021
    “ In "7 Secrets..." Evelyn Pine employs the exigencies of Covid as inspiration to write a play that is both touching and very funny. If teachers need to learn how to teach on zoom, why not write a play about that... teachers learning on-line how to teach on-line? What a brilliant idea! Each character has his/her amusing eccentricity and gradually-revealed vulnerability, so that you're often laughing or close to tears. This is a play that doesn't suffer from being performed on Zoom, as it was designed to be done that way. (It'd be great seen live in a theatre, as well.) ”
  • Maury Zeff:
    6 Aug. 2021
    “ "7 Secrets of Teaching Online" is a play borne of the Zoom age that somehow delightfully transcends the Zoom age. This play is one of the few 'Zoom plays' I've seen that manages to use Zoom to enhance the storytelling. Using the wickedly funny (and wildly meta) setup of university professors taking an online class on how to teach online, the play then veers into the interpersonal lives of its characters in a way that makes it both hilarious and deeply affecting. ”
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Darren, M, 16, a computer game enthusiast, fantasy skateboarder, and schlub.

Mitzi, W, 46, the enthusiastic instructor of the 7 Secrets of Teaching Online

Robbie, M, 32, a photographer and community college instructor.

Janine, W, 35, a community college instructor of public speaking and multimedia.

Leon, M, 40, a community college instructor of English

Zelda, W, 52, a community college instructor of Film

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Theatre 33
    ,
    2022