On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Emerson varsity class held their Fall Varsity Showcase in the Emerson High School Auditorium. The showcase was entirely student-run and consisted of performances such as duet songs, large group musical numbers, monologues, solos and even improvisation acts. This student-led production was first started by the officers this year as an opportunity for students to display their talents aside from traditional musicals and plays.
“We wanted to show the students’ individuality and creativity to demonstrate what they’ve previously learned throughout their prior experiences in theater,” Giovanni Cameau, 11, said.
With the responsibility to prepare for this showcase, students had to work outside of their class time to ensure a high-quality performance in their respective areas. After all their hard work, they were able to deliver an impressive performance full of talented thespians to the audience.
“The showcase was very fun, versatile, and it was something for everyone,” KK Kennedy, 10, said. “There’s acting bits, there’s singing bits, there’s dance bits, there’s something to represent all aspects of theater, which is what makes our company so great.”
Another unique factor this showcase brought to students was their freedom to pursue any lane of performance. Some were selected to carry out songs by themselves, while others chose to do numbers or scenes with one another. Jaxan Preston, 10, and Hanna Al-Husseini, 11, performed in duets from the musical movie “La la Land” and the Broadway musical “Ordinary Days.”
“We practiced ‘Fine’ over the summer for fun a lot, and we decided to work on that for the showcase,” Al-Husseini said.
“She’s a dancer, so we decided to do a dancer number first because we thought that would be fun to do,” Preston said.
The showcase accepted no fee for entrance and had an onstage audience like the fall show “One Man Two Guvnors” had. While it was not an audience-interactive performance, people were up close to the performers during the showcase.
“I’m excited for them to have the up-close experience for some of the solo performances since they don’t always get to see from being farther away,” Troupe officer Madison Mintz, 12, said.
The varsity class was thrilled with the way their first showcase went and was proud of all the work, dedication, and ownership they took with this performance. They hope to make this a new tradition for future varsity theater classes in the coming years.
