The atmosphere in the back stage area was filled with anticipation, fear, and just a hint of comeraderie. The talented individuals who volunteered to preform were a collection of colorful characters who took control of the stage in an attempt to entertain, and entertain they did.
This show had a $1 admission fee, which I find amazing, with a strong amount of musicians, some singers and dancers. My eyes were fixated on the stage at all times. With this abundance of song and dance, I find it amazing that some people missed it and I feel sorry for them.
A little way into the show the hosts Andrew Kleidon and Cody Brant came up with a fun way of “stalling” with an audience participation opportunity called “The Rock Opera” game. The objective of the game was to act out what a rock concert would look like. The winners received two tickets to the Sadie’s sweetheart dance on Friday, January 27, 20012.
After the show was finished, I went back stage to talk with the performers about their performances.
“It was as good as it could have been,” said junior Evan Molin who performed with Brittyn Erickson. They had rehearsed six times in a week.
Sophomore Nicholas Carrigan and senior Peter Burch performed “Faithfully” by Journey and they rehearsed for three months. Carrigan thought his nerves helped the performance.
Junior Daina Reibe did a tap dancing routine called Maria. To prepare herself for this show she practiced for two months, but she has been tap dancing for 12 years.
The mood back stage, before the winner was announced, was the satisfaction and relief of a job well done. The talent was judged by the audience.
The first place winner, a group called DMD, received $150 dollars, half of the gate receipts.The three participants were Miranda Emmerich on drums, Dylan Dykstra on bass, and Daniee Carson on piano and vocals performing “Love the Way You Lie.”
Dykstra said they didn’t have a lot of practice time ahead of time, so it was a little nerve-wracking.
“We had five days we practiced. By the first day, we had it down and spent the next four days to practice.”
DMD had a lot of people there supporting them.
“It was kind of startling the amount of applause we got just walking on stage.But we went on to have fun. We chose the song we did in order to do a song everyone knows and put our own twist on it,” said Dykstra.
The big question was how the winners would spend their portion of the gate.
Some of the band members thought they’d save the money to spend on instruments.
“I already spent some of it…$10 went to the dance, $5 went to my church and then $20 goes in my wallet for emergency cash,” said Dykstra. “So I have $15 left to spend on some impulse item.”
