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February 23, 2010
Noelle Fujii
The annual talent show returns with singing, dancing, poetry, music and literature.
“The talent show has always had great attendance, because so many students take part in the show and they all invite their friends and family,” drama teacher Matthew Ballin said. “ It also brings people to the show who don’t usually come to our plays.”
The talent show has been in production during eight of the nine years that Ballin has taught at Washington. It hurt the school financially when the talent show didn’t take place.
Performing Arts Club members run the show, and some Husky alumni return to judge the auditions. They decide which acts are ultimately included in the show. The number of auditions vary every year, but there needs to be between ten to fifteen acts to make the show possible. The auditioning process consists of prospective performers scheduling a time to show their act and then performing for the alumni judges. Judges post the acts and order of the show the day after the auditions. Performers must attend rehearsals before the show.
The auditions took place on February 7 and 8.
Students need to be prepared before they audition. Soundtracks for vocal performances can be recorded but it is better if the performer is ready.
Ballin and the judges want a combination of different acts although they usually get a lot of vocalists.
“I want to see a big variety,” Ballin said.
Judges make cuts because the whole show is limited to about two hours. They judge people based on skill level and entertainment value. There are two or three judges that score each act. Ballin and the judges sort the scores and anything below the bar they have set doesn’t get in the show.
There was a whole different group of students that auditioned for the show.
“Not a lot of people from the drama department tried out,” Ballin said.
Because judges don’t know the students, he feels that the process for selecting the students for the show is fair.
Sophomores Kelsi Ocon and Kenzi Rushton will sing a duet to “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World. In addition to vocals, Ocon will play the acoustic guitar during the performance. Ocon and Rushton went over the song for a couple hours to prepare for their audition. During the audition, Ocon was more excited than nervous.
“We both messed up and forgot the lyrics at the same time but it still worked out and we still sounded pretty good,” Ocon said.
The auditions are the only competitive part of the show. Active Performing Arts Club members will help with the lighting and the sound system, as the performances occur on the cafeteria stage. It is a two-night event. Each night features the same 18 acts.
“It’s cheap to come and see and fun to perform in,” Ballin said.
The talent show will be on Feb. 25 and 26 in the school cafeteria at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door for $6 each. A dollar from every ticket goes to the Haitian Relief.
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