A Fully Masked High School Musical- Coming to a Theater Near You In Commifornia

Is it possible to enjoy a fully masked performance?

When reading the Title of this post you might think this is a headline straight out of “The Onion” or the “Babylon Bee”. I wish it were. Sadly, this is not satire nor is the title of this post rhetorical. It’s true- very talented high school theater students in California are being forced to mask up for the entirety of their high school musical performances even while belting out solos where they are the lone cast member on stage. For what it’s worth, members of the orchestra pit are also required to mask up (that one is even harder to fathom). I’m not sure what runs through your mind as you read this but what has been running through mine all week is Who comes up with this kind of policy and how can someone possibly rationalize such a policy?! This is really happening in one of the top school districts in the nation (Irvine Unified School District) which is located in Orange County California (Commifornia). Woodbridge High School, who has a state-of-the-art new theater, held their production of Matilda The Musical March 3-5. Our family was in attendance on Saturday, March 5. Here’s what it looks like:

Fig 1- High School Performers in Matilda The Musical at Woodbridge High School on Saturday March 5, 2022

I am fond of performing arts and always have been- it’s in my DNA. I have many great childhood memories of attending performing arts and theater productions in Denver (where I grew up), Las Vegas and New York City with my parents, cousins, grandparents and friends. I have always wanted to instill, in my daughter, the same love for and appreciation of the performing arts that I have had. Prior to the pandemic we accomplished this by attending Chance Theater family theater performances, Segerstrom family theater productions, orchestra performances, Orange County Childrens Theater Productions and even a High School performance of Peter Pan The Musical at Grissom High in Huntsville, Alabama. Sadly, everything performing arts related came to a standstill for an extended period during the pandemic. The theaters are finally open again but maintain stringent requirements such as masking and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test to enter. This comes at a high cost and is not something I want to subject my daughter to just to be able to enjoy the arts. Fortunately, the theater and arts performances at the high school level were allowed to resume with the start of the 2021 academic year so I’ve had my eye on the idea of attending a production ever since. Matilda The Musical seemed like the perfect opportunity! My daughter is familiar with the plot as we recently read the story together and she loved it. It’s all the more enjoyable to take her to a performance when she knows the story. Getting her to sit through an entire production is a feat in and of itself given her high energy, wiggly and impulsive nature. She was mesmerized by the performance on the 5th and made it through the entire 2 hours even though it lasted well past her bed time! She loved it! The only things we did not enjoy about the experience were: being sternly asked to put on a mask upon entering the building and again upon entering our seating area (to which we politely said “No Thank you”); listening to muffled vocals that were muffled because of requiring all cast members to mask. Both of these are matters that Superintendent of Irvine Unified School District Terry Walker and Board of Education Members had the power to do something about. At the very least, Mr. Walker & the Board could’ve made an exception to the forced masking requirement for the cast members. This would’ve been logical and appreciated given that we were only 7 days away from the politically motivated 11:59pm March 11 date and time Gavin Newsom declares school mask requirements can be modified in accord with CDC Guidelines (which for Orange County means masks at school become optional). In spite of appeals from school leadership and family members of the cast, Mr. Walker and The Board opted not to make an exception. I’m told that the principal of Woodbridge High School and the school nurse were supportive of allowing the cast to perform without masks but the Superintendent and Board vetoed the idea using the same excuse that we’ve heard since the start of the academic year and that we now know is just smoke and mirrors: It will subject the district to liability risk which could result in school closures, penalties, fines and potentially even jail time for non compliance with California Department Of Public Health COVID-19 requirements. What is truly sad is that bad policy and poor decision making especially harms the 5 seniors in the cast who will never get these high school years back! The District owes it to the seniors to give them any semblance of normalcy they can given that 3 of their high school years have been far from normal! These Seniors have spent 2 academic years fully masked, 1 1/2 years deprived of any school sponsored performing arts opportunities and they are repeatedly subjected to draconian COVID restrictions while on campus all because the people in power have felt this is the best way to keep everyone safe. If only the available data showed that too (sarcasm intended)! In my opinion, the attitude of Mr. Walker & the Board on this matter is shameful, inexcusable and abhorrent. There will be public outcry over this (as there should be) and it isn’t something that will soon be forgotten.

Politics and poor decision making by District Leadership aside, we thoroughly enjoyed the Matilda The Musical performance. In my opinion, the talent was immense and the quality of the production was as good as (perhaps better than ) what you get at Segerstrom or even on Broadway. Allowing the cast to perform unmasked is the only thing that could’ve made the quality of the production better. The forced masking muffled the sound quality of the vocals and at times made the dialogue hard to follow. A few brave cast members found occasional ways to get around the requirement by allowing their mask (which for the main characters always happened to be color coordinated with their costumes) to fall to chin level during their performance. This was most obvious on two occasions: 1- During the solo of “I’m So Clever” performed in the second half by Woodbridge High School Senior Nikko Simic who played the character of Mr. Wormwood (Matilda’s father). His performance was worthy of a standing ovation-not only are his vocals exceptional, he belted his solo out with his mask low enough for the audience to see his mouth & clearly hear his vocals! Bravo! Well done Nikko! 2- During the solo “The Smell of Rebellion” performed in the second half by Woodbridge High School junior Aryan Jamshidian who played the character of Miss Trunchbull (the principal). The song was powerful as were his vocals but it was clear he was becoming winded singing with the mask on so he pulled it down to chin level to belt out the remainder of his solo. Perhaps their courage inspired other cast members to feel more relaxed and do the same as I noticed the cast was less focused on pulling their masks up over their noses during the second half of the performance. I’m so glad we attended and grateful that we were able to show our support for the talented cast while watching as unmasked audience members.

In closing this post, I’ll circle back on what I referred to in the title- this really could be coming to a High School Theater near you (no exaggeration) and it’s all tied to the SMARTER plan. It’s up to us, the every day people, to put a stop to it! Under Gavin Newsom’s SMARTER plan, announced just over two weeks ago, this kind of thing is normalized and dare I say expected. This plan reads as though it’s intended to serve as a template for the rest of the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Biden Administration were to push for this plan to become mainstream for all states. Thankfully, strong state level leadership in other states (ie: TN, FL & GA who have banned mask mandates in schools) will not allow their states to fall off the cliff and into the precipus as has happened with Cali/Commifornia. Here in Commifornia, we’re stuck at the bottom of the precipus and now looking up. If you didn’t think it would come to this- you’re not alone. I never fathomed this scenario either. Here is some evidence of what I’m referring to for you to noodle over:

Page 2 of the SMARTER plan which is the “Introduction” section defines the M in SMARTER as “Masks” stating

Properly worn masks with good filtration help slow the spread of COVID19 or other respiratory viruses.

On page 8 it goes on to suggest that as part of “Remaining Nimble and Adaptable”

With masking, there may be conditions that warrant temporary, targeted and risk-based masking requirements. These can be loosened once conditions improve.

The icing on the cake for the school setting comes on page 21 where it states

Prepare for the eventual change to universal school masking in schools, which include ensuring equitable access to vaccination, testing, and individual protections for students, families and school staff. Universal indoor masking has been the cornerstone of the state and national strategy to keep schools open. The goal of such efforts remains to preserve the sanctity and safety of in person schooling.

Page 27 highlights the habitual mind control instituted by the Regime when it states

None of the operative provisions directly impact or restrict the activities of the general public.

Is it possible for the Regime to get more delusional?! (Not a rhetorical question) I don’t understand how you can continue to require masking in school settings and say that such a provision doesn’t impact or restrict the activities of the general public.

None of these statements offer any supporting data to back them up. There isn’t a single iota of supporting data referenced in the entire 30 page SMARTER plan. Everything in the plan is propaganda and edict. It’s apparent in reading the entirety of the plan that Gavin Newsom & only Gavin himself gets to decide what circumstances warrant more masking requirements. He also gets to decide what improving conditions look like and based on existing precedent such decisions are not based on any evidence or supporting data. Sound tyrannical? You be the judge!

For the skeptics out there who still support the Commifornia Regime, I’ll leave you with the following food for thought: Do you really trust that California Public Health Officials and Governor Newsom have put your best interests ahead of their own desire for power, control and self enrichment? If your answer to this question is “Yes” then I cordially request to have a sincere conversation with you. Please come prepared with your evidence that shows The Regime has truly factored in what’s best for our youth in their decision making throughout the pandemic.

Thanks for tuning in!