The show SHALL go on!
For the first time in the storied history of Cardinal Stritch University's Performing Arts program, a virtual performance will be made available for Stritch performing arts mailing list subscribers.
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" was slated to be the final performance of the 2019-2020 Stritch Performing Arts season. Thanks to the vision and creativity of Performing Arts chair Mark Boergers and guest director Niffer Clarke, elements of the beloved musical will be performed virtually on Vimeo. The online presentation will debut Friday, May 15, at 6 PM and will be available for one week. Stritch performing arts mailing list subscribers will receive detailed information on how to access the performance. If you are interested in receiving these details, email theater@stritch.edu.
"We are thrilled to offer this performance to the community and to provide this experience for our students," said Boergers. "This is a trailblazing moment at Stritch. We are extremely proud to be the first college/university program in Wisconsin to be presenting a virtual theater performance during this unprecedented time."
Making the performance a reality was a complex endeavor. Immediately after the Stritch campus was closed as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, planning began. Once appropriate permissions were obtained, Boergers and his talented team immersed themselves in the logistics.
Actors were sent lapel microphones and then participated in trainings on proper Zoom settings and framing. Jeanne Schrank designed and built costumes, then sent or dropped them off at each actor’s home with instructions on how to sanitize. Clarke and music director Dr. Kristin Sponcia held virtual rehearsals with the cast. Dr. Sponcia recorded accompaniment tracks for the actors to sing off of, which they had in their ear during the songs. The actors then recorded their performances of each element of the show. Greg Kaye, Stritch’s technical director, overlayed their videos with the accompaniment tracks and edited the video together over a virtual backdrop of his set design rendering.
"This performance represents not only our resilience of mission and our love of the arts, but also our true commitment to finding a path forward through creative problem solving and teamwork, which is at the center of our Performing Arts education philosophy," said Boergers. "Though the obstacles we face today are immense, the creativity and ingenuity built through a liberal arts education fuels our faculty, staff and students."