The fall school musical this year is “The Mystery of Custodia”. This musical is written to be an online musical, which works great for the current hybrid-learning situation. It will be streamed online and free for everyone to watch.
Students will perform the musical in front of a camera instead of in front of an audience, which will make it unlike any musical the school has performed in the past.
“I think it is really interesting to be performing over a camera because I have only performed on stage. We work on our lines and music outside of class, and we don’t interact with others, so this has been a great chance to refine my skills. I have enjoyed this musical, and I am so excited to share this with other people,” freshman Emily Skibba said.
Theatre teacher Cassandra Conley researched her decision thoroughly before choosing this particular musical. The flexibility of this piece allows students to perform with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I chose Mystery of Custodia because it allowed students to perform no matter how school is being delivered. It is a virtual show and we could keep going if school became full remote. It also allowed solos and was a project that could be edited together easily to present and it’s a fun short show perfect for virtual viewing,” Conley said.
Students agree: the play was written to fit the circumstances.
“I like the ability to be able to perform and I like how the show was written, and was meant to be done virtually. It was written a few months ago, so it was meant for a situation like COVID-19,” sophomore Noah Sickman said.
The play, although shorter than usual to adapt for shorter attention spans of people watching from home, has a plot that is meant to grab the attention of the audience quickly.
“The school janitor (his name is Humphrey) disappears suddenly. The drama teacher (McGery) then decides to take his place while he’s gone. A couple days later the lunch lady (Linda) disappears. The students all start to question what happened to them. So the drama department starts to look for clues and investigates,” junior Brooke Collinsworth said.
Due to the musical being online, there will be no fee. Since it is free to watch, there may be more people watching, including family and friends that live out of state.
“It might increase [our viewership] because it’s free and it’s online so people outside of town could watch,” senior Leah Sickman said.
The play will be live from November 20-22. Join on your device and watch the hard work your fellow peers have put into the play.