The instant that junior Carmen D’Anna plugged in a hair dryer to work on an art project in the studio, there was a blackout.

Darkness filled the hallways at approximately 10:03 a.m., leaving the school in a minor chaotic state.

According to Principal Paul Barker, the exact cause of the power outage was unknown. Art teacher Bruno Baron said his class got a good laugh out of the hair dryer incident but that it was “just a coincidence.”

The power outage occurred in surrounding areas as well. Barker said that Southampton Middle School reported flickering lights around the same time but did not entirely lose power.

The outage not only affected classes but also the matinee of “Peter Pan,” which was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Students from Fallston, Southampton, and Havre de Grace middle schools and senior citizens from Brightview were among the audience members who had no choice but to wait for the power to come back on.

Southampton seventh grader Laura M. said that the orchestra had started playing and everyone waited for the play to begin when the power went out.

Assistant director and guidance counselor Larry Hensley said this was not the first time he had been involved with a production when the power went out. He said that the atmosphere behind stage was “generally calm” during the duration of the outage.

BGE originally told the school that power would be restored by 1:30 p.m., but lights came back on around 10:40 a.m. The play resumed at 10:45, and students went back to class at mod two.

Additional reporting by Allison Siegel.

Jenny Hottle can be reached for comment at [email protected].