As expected, extracurricular activities have been far from normal this year at St. Joe. This year, in St. Joe Theater’s production of Godspell, the cast crew and directors are doing everything they can to keep the most inclusive club at school active.

The Coronavirus has made this year’s production very different than those in the past. For starters, the performance location is non-other than the St. Joe Gymnasium. Due to covid restrictions, the stage at Bethel college was unavailable to rent this musical season. Alterations have had to be made in order to perform at St. Joe. This year, rather than standing on a proscenium stage and performing to an audience in a theater, the cast will be performing to audiences on each side of the bleachers. This means that choreography will now be facing two directions instead of one.

Another new factor that now must be taken into account is how to keep the actors and actresses safe while on stage. The singers will be performing from clear plexiglass platforms on the stage that have been cleverly worked into the set. The cast has also been divided into 3 ensemble groups. Each group will be rehearsing, dancing and performing together for the entirety of the production. No two groups will be on stage at the same time, to prevent people from the different groups from coming in contact with each other. This way, if someone in the cast has to quarantine, only their performance group will have to quarantine and the rest of production can continue.

Despite these challenges, the Spring Musical is still the most inclusive activity at St. Joseph High School. With a cast/crew numbering over 60, this shows that not even a pandemic can stop Saint Joe Theater from safely bringing joy to the community. Performance dates are March 25, 26, and 27.