January 26, 2021   Dear Columbus Academy Families,   Because we have two important events happening this weekend that we couldn’t wait until next week’s Viking Voice newsletter to inform you about, I am writing to provide details on the middle school play and another COVID-19 testing opportunity.   From 9:00 a.m. until noon this Saturday, January 30th, our school is partnering with PrimaryOne Health, Franklin County Public Health and the Ohio National Guard to offer free COVID-19 testing on our campus. Open to everyone, including the general public, testing will be conducted in the white tent on the Sommer Family Recreation Area next to our dining hall patio. To pre-register, please text “COVID” to 614-502-5329 and then follow the prompts replied back to you from PrimaryOne.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns related to your family’s health, please don’t hesitate to contact our school nurses at nurse@columbusacademy.org or 614-509-2234 (during non-school hours, you are encouraged to call 614-332-2764 for Beckie Hoagland and 614-496-9591 for Janet Fireman).

Also, at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, our middle school theatre program will try a brand new venture by presenting “Kittens & Auditions” live online! For a family price of $5, you can reserve your access to one of the shows by visiting https://conta.cc/3qGSN8H. Access must be purchased by 5:00 p.m. on the day of each show, and the link to view the production will be emailed to you 30 minutes prior to the selected performance. This year’s middle school play is actually two comedies specifically chosen because they take place in an online world.   According to director Whitney Eads: “The first play – The Internet is Distract… Oh Look a Kitten! – hops all over the internet as a high-schooler tries to finish her paper on The Great Gatsby. Bad Auditions: On Camera joins a casting director with a myriad of actors from all over the country as she tries to replace a crime series lead for NBC while she is stuck on a different set in Muncie, Indiana. The playwrights, Ian McWethy and Carrie McCrossen, gave us so many fun lines and stage directions that specifically involved acting remotely over a video platform, so the story fits well within the context of our ‘theatre space.’ Actors were given green screens and ring lights, and we have had so much fun figuring out virtual backgrounds. Even the crew worked on props both in school and remotely. We had three upper school student directors who have helped over zoom and created some of our video and sound cues. Mrs. Nockowitz runs our ‘backstage’ chat stream. I run our sound and camera views via two different programs routed through Zoom. The student actors join from their homes to rehearse and perform the show. It's all pretty complicated, but a fun challenge. What's more, it's all LIVE! I hope it will feel magical for the kids to know that family and friends are experiencing the show with them in real time from all over the country and potentially all over the world. We are stretching the bounds of what live performance can be in the age of COVID, and we hope that you join us from the comfort and safety of your home… pajamas, snacks and pets optional but encouraged!”

We hope the rest of your week goes well and that you consider these weekend opportunities.   Thank you,   Bob Lee Director of Communications and Marketing