It's an event that we all know and love here in Central Maine. Cony High School's Chizzle Wizzle is American's longest running high school variety show. And through some brainstorming, extra effort and grit, the 129th annual show will still go on.

Though they won't be able to welcome massive crowds into the auditorium like they typically do around this time each year, the students and producers at Cony High School have gotten very creative on just how to deliver this highly anticipated show to students, faculty, parents and community members.

This year's Chizzle Wizzle will be virtual, meaning the entire show is being pre-recorded and will run on the local access channel CTV-7. In addition, the show will be made available on DVD to those interested in having a permanent copy of their very own.

Parts of this year's production have already been recorded and are being prepared for air now. Another, not yet recorded portion of the show, will be filmed at Cony on June, 6th. The recording in June will be for the Olios section of the show.

Director of production, Lindsey Morin, told the Kennebec Journal that students who do not feel comfortable or safe attending the June recording do not have to attend and can exit their roll in the performance. Production managers and faculty want to make it super-clear that no students are by any means required to participate if they don't want to. After all, we're in uncharted waters and having to do everything differently this year is certainly not easy.

If students do wish to attend the June 6th recording, Cony has assured them, and their parents, that they will be following all Maine CDC recommended guidelines for the taping. These things include limiting the number of students in the building at a time to just those recording each specific act. In addition, they will limit the number of stage and production crew to the very minimum needed to execute the performance. Social distancing will be enforced and everyone will be wearing masks and disposable gloves, too. Students will only remove masks during the actual performance.

According to the Kennebec Journal even some of the original choreography for routines involving students needing to be closer than six feet apart has been altered. Producers are not exactly sure when the production will be finished and ready for air, but they plan to keep everyone up to date via Chizzle Wizzle News.

Fun Fact: Chizzle Wizzle originated in 1892 as a football team fundraiser for Cony High School. The actual name Chizzle Wizzle comes from an old cheer that went, “Chizzle Wizzle, Chizzle Wizzle, sis boom bah! Cony High, Cony High, rah, rah, rah!”

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