After months of quarantine, entertainment venues are beginning to open for live events again, and Sacred Heart University is no different. On Oct. 2, comedian Jessi Campbell performed at Sacred Heart’s Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. Campbell is from Los Angeles and has been seen on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” According to her website, Campbell was named 2015 Female Performer of the Year by Campus Activities magazine.
“It’s been really weird with COVID. There’s a fraction of the gigs. 90% of clubs are still closed and some won’t be opening back up at all,” said Campell. “When your job is to stand in front of a group of people crammed together whose mouths are open if they like what you do, you have to face the fact that it’s going to be a long road back.”
This event was organized by Student Activities. “We have had to adjust some of the events and make sure that we follow all university and CDC guidelines,” said Amy Novak, Director of Student Activities. “We have staff and student staff assisting at all events to ensure that everyone is wearing their masks and keeping socially distant.”
Although the Edgerton Center can hold half of its normal capacity of roughly 800 to accommodate for social distancing, only nine people went to Campbell’s show on Friday.
Campbell said COVID-19 has continued to impact her even as she returns to live shows.
“It’s the elephant in the room. You can’t ignore it. I have jokes about it at the beginning of my set that I like, then I move on. I think about it like politics. Sometimes you have to address something, but people want to escape,” said Campbell.
“I thought she was really funny. I’ve never seen her before, but I really enjoyed it,” said junior Megan Egan. “I like that SHU is still having events that everyone can go to. They’re still kind of accommodating for people, especially freshmen, because they should still have events.”
Though Campbell is now performing live shows, there were several months where in-person shows were impossible. Like many other entertainers, Campbell hosted virtual shows while COVID-19 was at its peak.
“Virtual shows have also been a good opportunity to entertain people while still being holed up in my house, and they have been really fun,” said Campbell. “Also, I usually don’t wear pants. That’s been the one benefit to all this. Less pants.”
Campbell’s comedy show is just one event out of the many that Student Activities is planning, though they are taking caution in how far ahead they plan.
“We are taking event planning one month at a time,” said Novak. “We have Fall Fest coming up and have made it a two-day event so that we can provide the opportunity to as many students as possible within the guidelines.”
The Student Events Team also has their annual “Halloweek” planned for the final week of October, which will include a variety of Halloween-themed events both at night and during the day, according to Novak.
