Guests form a jagged line as they wait to enter Carter Hall Sunday afternoon. Group by group they are ushered to their seats by a couple dressed head to toe in 15th century European costumes.

A group of seven arrives at the front of line and man in a navy blue, busty blouse, green tights and Sketchers sandals steps forward with his counterpart a woman draped in a 15th century cream gown. Together they show they lead the group through the double doors and into Carter Hall.

They are greeted by four characters at the door, and the costumed couple bow as they pass. Purple, red, green and white banners drape from the ceiling dimming the light in the room to a comfortable glow. The five-man band in the front of the room is playing traditional Irish songs in front of 13 full sized Christmas trees. Servers dressed in black slacks, a whit button up shirt and black bowtie align the back wall waiting for the attendants to take their seats.

The group is led to the fourth out of six long tables and asked to take their seats; the feast is about to begin.

The USI choir hosted their annual Madrigal Feaste from Thursday to Sunday. It was the largest choir they have ever had in the 42 years it has been running. And every student lent their own helping hand to get the event running.

Junior theatre major Michael Kay spent the weekend before Thanksgiving helping the choir load everything into carter hall and set up. He helped unload the truck at the University Center loading dock and set up the props and decorate Carter Hall.

“I ended up working non stop for six hours one day,” Kay said. “We all worked together to get it done as soon as possible.”

Kay has been performing at the feast since he was a freshman and still loves the role he plays in Madrigals. 

“It’s the best part about being at USI,” Kay said. “I keep doing it every year for a reason, and it’s because I love being a part of it.”

The set up, however, is only half the work put into making Madrigals work.

Each character has his or her own costume that has to be altered and hemmed to fit their body type and sometimes calls for a completely new piece to be made. This year stage manager Heather O’Cull had a lot of hemming and alterations, but she only had to make one pair of pants.

“Most of the costumes are in stock and we just pull them,” O’Cull said. “I didn’t really have a lot to do this year, I expected more with such a big choir.”

Like the costumes both the script and props are recycled from years before. Only slight changes are made to the script and props vary on the size of the choir.

In August, the choir started to prepare the 30 songs they sing, in a span of two and a half hours. It is the biggest project of the fall semester and to make sure everything runs smoothly, USI choir director Daniel Craig said.

“We start learning the songs early in the semester, but after the fall concert we really start focusing on Madrigals,” Craig said.

With the choir being at its largest in history, Craig made the decision to change the show up a little this year. In past years, the choir stands behind the king and queen on stage and performs the concert at the end in a semi-circle. This year they had to adjust the stage and stand in straight line at the front of the stage.

“Next year I want to be able to stand in a semi-circle at the front of the stage,” Craig said. “The choir this year was really fantastic, and I’m looking forward to next semester with them.”