The lights shine down as the seniors prepare to step out on stage for their last Fall Festival, starting the countdown until graduation. After waiting for so long, they were ready to kick off their senior choir season; however, due to COVID, this Fall Fest has looked quite different from any other.

Senior Ananya Kartik said the seniors made the most of the circumstances.

“We gave it our all,” Kartik said. “I’m just really happy this could work out this year. Even if we have masks, I’m still so thankful to have performed at fall fest one last time.”

The seniors’ last fall fest was different, from the preparation to the performance. Usually, “Make-up Moms” and “Hair Moms” would rehearse the students’ hairdos in advance and put hair up during the school day before the event.

“We all had to do our hair ourselves, which is very difficult for people who haven’t done their own hair for a show before,” senior Faith Hobbs said. “It’s also harder to breathe while we dance because we have masks on.”

Additionally, the preparations for the show were altered in order to try to motivate the students without the typical support of the crowd.

“I’m the company manager of the group, so usually before we perform, we do something called a powwow, which is basically where we all get in a circle, me and the other company leader lead it, and we just give the girls supportive encouragement and get them pumped up,” senior Norah Armstrong. “Our powwow looked very different; we had to make it really rushed. I think that was the hardest for me because I had to get everybody pumped up for the show in a very little amount of time.”

One of the largest changes for the new COVID regulations was the decrease in audience size.

“It’s difficult for us because we get our energy from the audience, cheering us on. But I just felt so much energy from the people around me tonight. It was less about the audience and more about us,” senior Helena Hashimoto said. “We wanted to make sure that we were putting on a great show for not only the audience but also we’re doing what’s best for the group.”

Despite the differences, as the theater world says, the show must go on. So, even with these difficult circumstances, choir members managed to look at their performance constructively.

“I think as a whole we did really well with our dancing, but as individuals we could definitely push ourselves to do better,” Hobbs said. “For the show Tuesday night, I have the solo for ‘No Way,’ so I am very excited and a little bit nervous for that. I think we could improve our vocals and hopefully do even better tomorrow because there will be less stress and confusion.”

However, Armstrong believes the show went well, and with a second night still to come, the show is certainly not over.

“My prediction for tomorrow night is that I think that it’s going to be better; I think we had a great show tonight but I feel like it can be even better tomorrow. I’m going to tell the girls some corrections that we can make, and I feel that we will apply them,” Armstrong said.

Despite the challenges the show faced, Hashimoto said she believed their triumphs in and outside of the auditorium have brought the community closer together.

“We’re going through so much individually, and we still find time to be there for each other, and just be there for each other. It gets super stressful, but the main thing I realized during all of these crazy times is that we need people. It’s all about being able to listen and be there for each other,” Hashimoto said. “Sometimes it isn’t so much about fixing the problem, it’s about just being there. Knowing that you are surrounded with support is just so important.”