Still a full two months away, the backdrop of the Spring Musical performance of SpongeBob SquarePants can already be seen in the auditorium. Teal green bubbles frame the stage where the action is set to take place. Even just this outermost layer still needs a lot of work though. Theater Department Chair Mr. Michael Moffatt said of the already impressive display, “We’re going to have several layers of it.” Such is the nature of the Spring Musical, which is often the most technically intensive production of the year.

The unique challenge to SpongeBob SquarePants is replicating the feel of animation on the stage. Moffat said, “The cartoon feel (of the show), you’ll get more from the voices than anything, and hopefully if we can swing it, the sound effects too. We’re trying to get some fun cartoon sound effects when we’re doing certain movements or little tricks.”

Additionally, Moffatt said that the theater is going to rent a projector that can overlay images onto the stage. The purpose is to enhance certain scenes and layer effects to create that cartoon-like feel to the performance. He said, “We’re trying to use it as much as possible.”

The stage itself also requires a lot of specialty work. Moffatt said, “There’s a scene where Mr. Krabs hides money everywhere in all these little compartments.” “We’re just trying to make it interesting for him to do some choreography up there.”

Moffatt’s own son, Sophomore Sammy Moffatt, will assume the role of the greedy restaurateur Mr. Krabs. Mr. Moffat thought he would be up to the challenge of translating Krabs from animation to the stage. He said, referencing Krabs signature cadence and tone, “Sammy’s really good at voices.”

The elder Moffatt is trying countless other details to assist the performance. He said, “We’re going to add special effects like dry ice, add some lighting, add some fog.” 

Cathedral is fortunate to have a tech theater teacher like Mr. Moffatt who is capable of bringing the murky, gross, and goofy cartoon to life.