NEW YORK - Six months ago, as COVID-19 shut down our entire city and ultimately the world, Jamie Cacciola-Price was just in the midst of helming the annual musical at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.

"Never did I think when we closed school last March, that we would be in a position of possibly sitting out another entire year. We were doing the musical "Hairspray" and we had to cancel our second weekend, which at the time felt like the biggest loss ever. And then we went straight into remote learning," said Cacciola-Price.

Cacciola-Price who heads the theater department at the arts-based institution, spent the entire summer coming up with a plan to teach his drama majors. A plan that involves both in-person and virtual learning.

"We decided that even if we're in the building, teaching a smaller cohort of in-person students, we would simultaneously be having a zoom going. We don't really have to shift what we're doing and they're not going to fall behind because everybody will still be in the same space, whether they're remote or in person," said Cacciola-Price.

Cacciola-Price says they are well-prepared for in-person learning once it resumes, but there are restrictions and challenges with teaching in a black box theater.

"We can only have seven students in a class at one time based on the size of our standard classroom. Everyone's required to wear a face mask. There will be temperature checks, PPE will be provided. If you're in a choir, you would have to be twelve feet apart. Not just the standard six, same for dance," Cacciola-Price said.

Senior Drama Major Ashley DiLorenzo was the star of last year’s spring production of "Hairspray." This is a busy time for DiLorenzo and her fellow seniors at Sinatra, many have to balance a full class load while also preparing to audition for performing arts universities in a COVID world.

"The vast majority of my auditions are online. I was very, very worried in the beginning because this is very much unchartered territory. Even though we're all a little confused and a little scared, everyone is, so going in with that sort of common ground," said DiLorenzo.

DiLorenzo says not even the coronavirus can ruin her dream of working on Broadway. And although the spring musical has been cancelled for 2021, Cacciola-Price is determined to have his students, including DiLorenzo, perform in the spotlight this academic year.

"For someone like me who will not have a show this year, it's definitely something that I had to step back and think, 'Oh, wow. You know, that's something that's unfortunately not going to happen for me.' But that doesn't mean it's never going to happen for me in my life," said DiLorenzo.

"As artists, I think that we’re always really good at taking a challenge and turning it into something spectacular. And I think all of my arts teacher colleagues at Frank Sinatra are very up for that challenge," Cacciola-Price concluded.