Feb. 2 is the Student-Teacher Talent show! Many teachers and students will be showing their acts on stage for a good time. The yearbook and journalism staff will be participating in it with their own acts, as well as 11 other students, according to senior Lilly Moody.
Moody says she started planning this event in October. She shares, “since I was on the yearbook staff last year, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to plan these types of events, especially when [the yearbook staff] isn’t given enough time.”
As for planning the show, Moody states that she “makes sure the auditorium is reserved for all of the practices and the show.” She continues, “as a staff, we think about the best way to advertise the show.”
They have made “posts on Instagram, posters, and videos” to allow people to apply to be in the show. After people have applied and sign-ups end, Moody has the performers send her what props they need, the music files, scripts, and the lighting instructions.
She then sends the information to “[English teacher Mrs. Carla Harward] so she can approve the acts” and to “[Science teacher Mrs. Christine Jestel] and her tech crew.”
English teacher Mr. Michael James shares, “[English teacher Mr. Richard Peddicord] and I always do an act together; I was watching the Muppets Christmas Carol, and in the Muppet Show, they always have the two old guys who criticize everything, and I thought that would be hilarious.”
He continues, “we would dress up like them, and we would just go and learn their lines and comment about all the acts. So, we are going to be two grumpy old men who don’t want to be there.”
Senior Maddie Caiazzo is doing an act with fellow senior Val Angulo. Caiazzo says, “[Angulo] and I are doing a dance, but it is a secret because we want to surprise the audience.” They came up with this idea because they both wanted to do a dance. Caiazzo says, “we wanted to do the dance, which is most of our show, but we wanted to add a little bit of a twist; so, we come out of this stage, and we want people to think they know what we’re doing, but we actually tear off our clothes and do something different.”
English teacher Ms. Bethany Birchfield says she is in a group with, “[vice principal] Mrs. Erin Mock, [English teacher] Mrs. Jennifer Chandler, and [ag teacher] Mrs. Aimee Densmore,” and they are doing a “choreographed Pound routine to ‘The Greatest Show’” from The Greatest Showman.
She says that their group has only practiced their dance a “tad.” She continues, “we started this workout class after school, and it’s with drumsticks; you hit the drumsticks to the music, and so after the class we stay and we can practice.” The group has been practicing over the span of two months.
Angulo and Caiazzo have been practicing since “the beginning of January,” but they “still have a lot to do” and they are “very nervous” since the talent show is so soon.
James said they haven’t practiced “at all,” but they will practice the week before. “This is how we always do it; we do it the week before and we throw it together,” he says. He also shares that he does have some nerves about going on the stage in front of many people. James claims, “my superpower is [that] I am good at making a fool of myself, and so I just go on stage and am like ‘Well, of course they’re going to laugh,’ because I am going to be doing something really foolish.”
On the other hand, Birchfield says she isn’t nervous about going onstage because she is “extremely confident” in their abilities, and because the lights will be off.