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Photo by Rachel Bauer

Mia Keeler, senior, performing at the talent show. Keeler received second place with her performance.

Dancing, singing, and instruments infested the PAC on Thursday during talent show. The audience could not keep their eyes off the stage.

Last nights’ show, which raised money for Charity Bash, was full of talent. Sarah Shapero, whose stage name is Justice Hartstrong, senior, got third, Mia Keeler, senior, got second. Both Keeler and Shapero sang, but first place winner, Francesca Castro, senior, took it a step further. By playing guitar and melodica, a mini piano played by blowing into, her difficult and amazing act as a one woman band involving two separate instruments was one many were mesmerized by because of her skill when playing the instruments.

This is Castro’s fourth talent show and along with winning first place this year, she won Judges Choice freshman year, Most Musical sophomore year, Most Creative junior year. Along with talent show prizes, Castro took home Best Show for her jazz band “Willy Wonka and the Jazz Factory”, senior year and also won first place with her band Above 4 at  Battle of the Bands.   

“My favorite talent on stage was probably Francesca [Castro] because she had a bunch of different instruments on stage that she was playing, which was cool,” Griffin Brown, sophomore and singer in Bare Voices, said. “I felt that the audience was the more engaged with her performance than any of the other acts, and it was just fun to watch.”

A lot of the participants in the show had similar talents. This lack of diversity negatively affected the audience’s engagement and attention at times because acts began to feel redundant, especially when  a couple acts in a row consisted of instrumental, slow paced music. But despite the repetitive nature of the acts, the talent show truly lived up to its name by showcasing some of the most talented students in the school.

“I think the show was good and I had a good time. I like watching [all the acts] especially the comedian, [Mirium Chung], [who was] probably my favorite performance. Either her or Mirsten Mazurkiewicz’s guitar [playing],” Lizzie Kalafut, freshman audience member, said. “I really like guitar music and the comedy was so true to my life about never having a boyfriend and being the ugly friend.”

Acts like Chungs’ impacted the audience in a way that made the night memorable. Comedy can is always a hit or a miss, and every joke she Chung told a hit. By the end of her bit, the audience was holding their stomachs from the laughter. Chung was only one example of the acts that the students were watching in awe inspired gazes.

“I think the talent show is very important [for the school],” Kalafut said. “It’s just a fun [event] where people can show their talents on stage, which is great. Also because it helps raise money for Charity Bash.”

All proceeds made from the talent show are donated to Partners For Progress, a therapeutic riding center for people with autism. Every seat that was filled in the auditorium helped lead to a successful Charity Bash event, raising $5 per audience member.

“I think the talent show went very well,” Brown said. “Everyone was very talented and it’s really cool to see how everyone had their own unique talent and ability.”