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Joseph Potts

Show choir teacher Laura Engels states that were was a lot of different acts happening at the variety show, including skits, solos, duets, and improv done by the West High improv group, as well as an appearance by the band Riding Atlas. "Students have to audition for Zimmerman and Whittemore. Zimmerman accepted the people, put the list outside her office, and then she had MCs sign up and then it kind of fell into my lap from there," Engels said," I've been orchestrating what has already been put in place."

West students produced the 59th annual West High variety show on May 10 in the auditorium. Preparations for the variety show began the first week of May.

Senior Lily Hancock says that they started late this year and pulled the show together in one week. The variety show is directed by show choir teacher Laura Engels. Engels gives the students the necessary tools and resources for the show and tells them what needs to be done, like organizing people for each act and assigning volunteer hours. Then it is up to them to keep the show in order.

Some students like Hancock are masters of ceremonies (MCs), who oversee the acts and coordinate when they take place.

“There’s a lot of different gears that go into the variety show, so we have to have light people, sound people, stage crew, someone for the curtain… We have to make sure that everybody knows the order the show is going,” Engels said. ”The acts themselves are really easy to put together because it’s simply somebody performing, then the MC, someone performing, then the MC. It’s all of that behind the scene stuff that goes on that is really difficult to orchestrate, and it’s really important that everybody is on the same page.”

Both the MCs directing the variety show and the students who audition were performing for it. Some like seniors Ben Gabriel and Rolando Gonzalez Jr. sang solos or duets, while other people did group performances like improvisation by the West High improv group ComedySportz.

Senior Sam Petri performed with his band Riding Atlas to play several songs that they have written.

“I heard they were looking for a band, so I asked Ms.Engels if we could perform and she said yeah. So now we can do a little show at the end,” Petri said.

Engels says she liked working backstage and getting everything together. Gabriel says that he had a good time performing with friends.

“I think it’s fun when you get to perform with your friends because you’re bonded with them and the performance is more real,” Gabriel said. ”I just hope everybody has a good time and no one feels [it’s] something they have to do, but something they want to do and have fun.”