BWW Blog: Being Back on Campus

What can I say, this year has been one crazy ride, but I'm happy to say I'm back on campus! Like I said in an earlier post, I study lyric theatre at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. We are one of very few universities who have implemented a saliva based COVID test that is being distributed to many other universities. I am required to be tested twice a week and I do not have access to campus buildings if I test positive. Because of our university's testing system and safety regulations, we've been able to have some in person classes. As a performance major, this is incredibly important. For our choir classes, we have been given singer's masks, which have more space in the front for us to breathe (but make us look like ducks). We rehearse outside for only 30-45 minutes at a time, and remain six feet apart. For our studio class, where we run scenes and do character work, we have been performing outside as well as wearing singer's masks.

Now, you might be wondering, are we going to have public performances this fall? Well, I have (somewhat) of an answer.

Sadly, all Krannert public performances for the fall have been cancelled. This includes choir concerts, musicals, plays, and visiting artist performances. But as Zoom and technology has taught us, this does not mean the arts are cancelled. Many of our programs are either moving to a virtually based medium or are able to do performances outside/socially distanced. Lyric Theatre @ Illinois has received permission from our university to do performances in Krannert on one condition: we have a socially distanced set and only four people are allowed to be on stage at one time. We also cannot sing directly towards each other and we must remain at least ten feet apart at all times. This doesn't really work for a full production, but there are many scenes that would work for this type of setting. For example, the tonight duet from West Side Story could be done from opposite sides of the stage.

While I would do anything to get back to a live performance setting, I know this is the safest option for people who would be comfortable in a setting like this. The fact that we are able to do this at all shows how much Krannert and the arts means to our university. The conditions of quarantine have been particularly interesting for performance majors and shown the importance of the performing arts. While Broadway has been shut down, artists have taken to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to create performance opportunities as well as make the arts more accessible to people who might not have been interested in the first place.

My class also has a unique opportunity to be able to show the world how the performing arts will be shaped after COVID. We have to ask ourselves what kind of industry we want to work in and how we can not only become performers, but creators in an industry that is accessible and fair regardless of race, sexuality, disability, financial status etc.

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