Lara Brinkman, 17, prepares to host her virtual prom in the second episode of KdentsTV's "Quaranteens" series. (Image courtesy Cadence Theatre Company)
Following months of media coverage on the loss of proms and graduations, some local teens are taking back the narrative of youth and COVID-19 with KdentsTV’s “Quaranteens” series, presented by Richmond's Cadence Theatre Company.
“A lot of people in the beginning were upset and sitting around not doing much,” says student filmmaker Lara Brinkman, 17. “We hoped these videos would show them there's fun to be had.”
KdentsTV is a platform for young artists, working alongside professional mentors, to create and share short films. Cadence Artistic and Managing Director Anna Senechal Johnson says she had planned on debuting a scripted series but shifted gears once the pandemic hit to produce a reality web show on teenage life in quarantine.
While the young filmmakers receive guidance from filmmaker Danny Caporaletti and Virginia Commonwealth University film students and others, the KdentsTV students filmed their own videos and created the series’ theme song, “HiLow,” written by 17-year-old Nicholas Caviness. Episodes feature teenagers celebrating milestones such as a virtual prom and everyday moments such as baking in quarantine.
Each week, mentors gather in a Zoom meeting with 13 students to brainstorm potential episodes and premiere drafts. Brinkman says she initially worried meetings would be awkward, but her fear quickly faded after logging on to the first meeting, where peers spoke to her like they had “known her forever.”
Mentor Caporaletti says his favorite part of working on the series is watching the students' drafts, and he encourages them to balance planning with improvisation while filming.
“A lot of the dialogue wasn't scripted,” student filmmaker Marcus Dowd says, discussing his filming process. “I was being really spontaneous and creative, especially [with] the different camera angles. I would keep trying new things, and it was a lot of fun.”
While Johnson says she hopes there is never a need for another season of “Quaranteens,” she admires how students are staying creative to document history, living through COVID-19 as teenagers.
“I feel so uplifted when I watch these videos,” Johnson says. “We didn't necessarily tell them it has to be upbeat, but all of them are.”
