“If I *gasp* were a *deep breath* rich man…” So awkward, right? Actors were gasping for air during their songs because of the plastic masks they were required to wear on stage. As we all know, plastic isn’t breathable. Perhaps one could adjust to these new masks, learn to use them and still be healthy and safe, however this would take much more time than one day. So, why did the administration wait until our last dress rehearsal of Fiddler on the Roof to announce which mask we were allowed to use?

Keeping us waiting, not allowing us practice time, double standards; these are just a few of the problems I have with what I call the “great mask war of 2022”. Go to a sporting event and look at the players. Notice anything missing? Athletes who wrestle, block, swim and shoot baskets with teens from other schools, whom they’ve had no previous contact with, are allowed to do their sport without masks. But, the fiddler cast, who had been together multiple hours everyday for months, was required to wear masks for safety. This does not add up. Singing and dancing in heavy costumes under bright lights is just as, if not more, physically demanding as wrestling or basketball. Yet, our actors are stuck with masks. I’m not going to beat around the bush, this feels like a double standard and is quite unfair to the theater program at North. Again, these sports are coming into contact with a number of different schools, encountering new germs at every game. Theater is the same people, everyday. 

This issue is bigger than North as well, I do not address this article to our admin here. In fact, I want to thank Dr. Murray and Mr. Young for working closely with us to try to find a way to perform safely while still hearing us out. It is the higher ups in the district and county that bestowed these backwards standards on us. The musical is over now, and it’s too late to change the fact that our actors wore masks on the stage, but I’d just like to point out the issue and move forward with it resolved. I am in no way against masks, I just want an all or nothing decision that is fair for all.