The Peacock Society’s annual Fusion event is one of the more highly anticipated of the school year. Fusion exactly that: a combination of a play and various intricate dance performances. Every year, the club holds auditions for the particular roles and teams that are necessary for the event’s success. With COVID-19 causing students to transition into a virtual setting, many club activities that were often highlights of the school year have been canceled.

This year, the Fusion board made an executive decision to take the show virtual. For the first time in Edison High School history, Fusion will be recorded and presented to the public as a movie rather than a play. This will ensure the safety of the members amidst the pandemic while still allowing the show to continue. 

Sneha Rajagopalan ‘23, an actor, dancer, and singer, said, “Fusion is so much fun because I get to work with my friends and I love dancing, singing and acting and it’s an escape from all the work I get from school.”

Peacock Society, a club which includes many South Asian cultures, put great thought into constructing a script that resonates with the South Asian community of Edison High School. The play dialogues are mixed in different languages such as Hindi and Gujarati to bring out it Bollywood style. This year, the Fusion board members established the script for the play over the summer, meeting via Zoom.

One of the presidents, Rishab Gera 21’ described the process of writing: “Every single detail about every character was thought and planned thoroughly overall trying to achieve the goal of representing Indian heritage.” 

Auditions were all held virtually. Singers and dancers submitted their videos on Google Classroom, while actors were given a small piece of the play and asked to run the lines using emotion and actions to bring the script to life. The board then chose the actors they felt illustrated the characters as they had visualized. After the cast was chosen, weekly Zoom meetings after school were planned for rehearsal. 

Actor Saanvi Bhuteja ‘23 said, “Fusion being recorded is definitely a new twist from the previous events, however, I’m glad that the pandemic didn’t completely stop the show. Although the audience would’ve been more engaging in person, Fusion has managed to make this tradition continue except this time- it’s pandemic version!”