The western-themed LFHS Talent Show is riding into town this weekend.
For three nights only, audience members can observe the talent LFHS students have to offer. The students and staff involved have been preparing for months. Tickets for the show, which runs Thursday-Saturday, are available here.
Despite it seeming effortless by show night, the show takes an immense amount of work to create. Preparations begin in November, and act submissions are due in mid-January. This year, the acts range from newly formed groups to established bands. Junior Nate Arch and his band Zamboni, of which he is the lead singer, were very enthusiastic about joining the show.
“Everyone in my band loves to perform,” Arch said.”It’s an awesome experience, and we’ll almost never turn down an opportunity to have so much fun!”
After the acts are finalized, rehearsals begin. While the audience only watches the acts, there are a ton of others involved in producing the talent show. The tech crew, New Media, the emcees, and the sponsors all play a vital role in creating an entertaining experience for the audience.
“Tech starts preparing for the show in late January. We watch all the talent and take notes on what they need and want,” junior and Assistant Technical Director Evan Spezzano said. “Throughout rehearsals, we continue to take notes, and the designers start creating sound and light scenes a couple days before the first dress rehearsal.”
This year’s emcees, seniors Katie-May Newman and Kallista Schneiderman, have been preparing for months to help produce an incredible show.
Courtesy of Katie-May Newman
“Kallista and I have been writing skits, thinking of costumes, and incorporating the theme into our performance since November!” said Newman. “Every week, we meet in a coffee shop and write (and laugh) for about an hour straight. There’s really no way to be completely prepared, seeing as a few of our skits rely on audience participation, but we try our best!”
The New Media and Live Production teams also ensure the success of the show. Beginning in November, the New Media program creates comedy themed videos that play between act transitions on stage. In addition, the Live Production crew, led by senior Chip Bailey, film the show live and project the feed onto the large screens next to the stage so the audience can better view the acts.
Members of the New Media team, led by senior Grace Donovan and junior Anna Daniel, also film the introduction video that plays at the beginning of the show.
“I have coordinated all the different acts and group filming times along with putting the [introduction] video together!” Donovan said. “I love producing, so being able to produce a project this big has been a great challenge and also a super fun experience.”
As the APT’s sole fundraiser, the show needs to bring in ticket sales. The success of the production could not be done without the help of the APT and LFHS staff members like Mr. Corey Holmer.
“I’m the teacher director for talent show, so I do all the back-end logistical work with planning, scheduling, and all that. I also work side by side with APT parents who are actually the main directors of the show, so I’m kind of the LFHS liaison to the APT,” Holmer said. “I also provide feedback and support, do tech, and do everything else I can to help.”
While preparing for the show, there are inevitable issues that the acts and committees need to address. A number of act and committee members, including Arch, have become sick as a result of the current cold outbreak.
“I’m singing for the majority of my [five] acts, so losing my ability to practice for an entire seven days only three weeks before the show was definitely scary. However, now that my voice is back up and running, I’m doing my best to take advantage of every day,” Arch said.
Another struggle is the vast amount of time it takes to produce the show successfully. Rehearsals run for about a month, and they significantly ramp up as the event dates approach.
Unfortunately, auditions and rehearsals for the spring musical begin right as talent show rehearsals increase; many students are involved in both performances. This conflict causes students to stay at the school late at night—first having musical rehearsals, and then shifting to talent show rehearsals later in the evening.
“Our schedule goes from late January to February, so about a month of working nights, normally until 8-9 p.m,” said Spezzano. “It’s super stressful for the leaders because they always need to be there and on top of things. We manage this by encouraging new people to come do talent show, aid the leaders in note-taking, set the stage, etc.”
Enduring the challenges, however, is worth it to many participants. Working on the show forms a supportive community.
Courtesy of Katie-May Newman
“You will never meet a group as diverse and talented as those who are involved in the talent show. There is something for everyone: performers, musicians, artists, tech wizards–every person has a place at talent show,” said Newman.
Many students also grow more confident in their talents and bonds with each other.
“Seeing the kids go from day one auditions to the show and the growth they go through in that time is a highlight. The growth is not only seen with the acts, but the tech crew too,” Holmer said. “You also start seeing all these different groups talk and get to know each other.”
With all the efforts from each committee and act, this year’s talent show is shaping up to be an amazing, entertaining, and exhilarating western-themed performance.
“Talent show 2025 is going to be one of the best performances yet. From jazzy renditions of classics to spectacularly harmonized country songs, this year’s show has entertainment for everyone,” said Arch. “Why miss it? Everyone should grab their tickets now before they run out!”
