The 2022 House Talent Show included performances from all seven houses, competing for first place, awarded for creativity and comedy. Substantial planning and organization went into it, and prefects commented on the work their house did.
Roberts took the 2022 GA Talent Show win this year, above Kershaw and Washington who tied for 2nd. The points given to these winners will ultimately go towards their house placing, and with House Olympics edging closer, the smaller competitions along the way will have a major impact on the results of the 2021-2022 House Olympics. This year’s Talent Show consisted of various performances, including singing, dancing, acting, and more. The purpose of each production was not only to display talent but to convey it in a way that was unique and comedic.
Starting off the Talent Show, Kershaw opened with a band consisting of a small orchestra, piano, drums, and guitar. A group of students then entered with glow sticks shining through the dark, dancing to “YMCA” by Village People, led by Kershaw prefect, Caitlin Boland-Szura ‘22. They signaled the four letters of the song, as well as some assisting moves to add to the flare. Kershaw prefect, Kwabena Ampomah ‘22, commented on their preparation for the show, saying, “We couldn’t have done the performance without Mr. Horner for the music room and fixing the sheet music and helping organize the ensemble.” For recruitment, the prefects contacted all of the Kershawites who played instruments and who were available to perform. Ampomah also noted that this win “will increase the momentum and hype leading up to House Olympics.”
Next was Alcott Day, mirroring another Talent Show takeover with “Alcott’s Got Talent.” There were three judges and three performances in total. Starting off was a poetry reading by Blythe Berlinger ‘22 and Jack Wescott ‘25 of the lyrics to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus in both expressive and monotonous voices. Next was a dance by Brianna Geist ‘24 and Prefect Gavin Legos ‘22 to “The Scientist” by Coldplay, and topping it off was a singing performance by Eli Torrey ‘23 and Atharv Awasthi ‘22, performing “I Want Alcott Day”, a contrafactum of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. There was also a kazoo army assisting in the background by a group of students. Alcott Day Prefect Riya Palkar ‘22 said that she and Gavin had a lot of help from Ms. Graffam, Upper School English teacher, “who practiced with us and helped us fine tune each act.” For recruitment, many juniors were enthusiastic about volunteering to perform. Palkar said how it was “rewarding to see something that you put a lot of planning into being performed on stage”, noting that it was “a great way to get people involved in the house”.
Galloway opened with an Irish dance by Olivia Shafer ‘23, soloing for a few moments before being covered by a trash bag. She was then joined by a group of students rolling around in trash bags to various songs like “Can’t Touch This” and “Everybody Dance Now.”
Roberts’s winning production opened with “Walririta” sung by Jenna Nolan ‘22 and Gianna Mooney ‘25, as well as Elena Lin ‘25 on piano, a contrafactum of “Chiquitita” by ABBA. A group of students waved in the background before cutting to their next dance, “Rasputin”, by Boney M. Perhaps it was the complexity of their production that won the judges over, because not only did the dance have various moves, solos, and flips within the performance, but the official walrus mascot was seen on a cart, rolling across the stage. Ella Metro ‘23 and Anita Sinker ‘25 displayed their flips succeeding the other solos, and at the finale, Germantown Academy’s Patriot mascot ran on stage as confetti streamers flew through the audience.
Osbourn featured a play followed by a singing and dance performance by members of the house. Prefect Juli Gonzalez ‘22 pretended to sleep on stage, having nightmares about Osbourn’s losses at house competitions. These individual dreams were commentated by the other prefect, Cory Miller ‘22. When Juli woke up from the dream, the scene cut to Maddie Quinter ‘24, singing “Teamwork” by Maddie Ziegler while a group of students danced in a V formation. The Osbourn audience also contributed by holding up phone flashlights to the song.
Next up was Truesdell, with an Olympics-themed production. Members of the house entered with symbols and instruments, and the Truesdell audience waved flags in support. There were multiple ‘events’, like jump roping, a singing performance by Julian Adams ‘25, flips around the stage by a few students, and at the end, Truesdell ‘won’ their Olympics with a large prop medal. Prefect Fore Abinusawa ‘22 commented on recruitment, saying that they were able to get people involved mainly through announcements. She explained, “As prefects, the talent show is probably one of the hardest competitions to coordinate. Creating a performance with limited time and limited resources can be incredibly difficult.” Preparations started as early as February, and House Head Ms. Ritz “was instrumental throughout.” Despite their loss, Abinusawa said, “It was really fulfilling to see our performance come to life on stage.” She continued that the Talent Show was “one of the most demanding, yet rewarding challenges attributed to being a prefect.”
Finally, Washington ended the Talent Show with their second-place performance: a song and dance to “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. Sofia Eichsteadt ‘22 was on guitar, while Sangeetha Bhuyan ‘22 and Melinda Amorosi ‘23 sang. A group of students danced to choreography done by Bhuyan and Clara Alger ‘22, before transitioning into the music video reenactment portion. Three students, Dean Shacklett ‘23, Saige Battisto ‘23, and Prefect Jacob Hsu ‘22, acted out the scenes from the “Love Story” music video, following the storyline of falling in love and getting married, adding substantial humor along the way. Prefect Ava Spratt ‘22 said, “Jacob and I solely planned out everything on our own.” She noted that no one knew what they were doing until the final show. She said that as prefects, there was “a lot of pressure on ourselves in making the show perfect because Washington had won first place in the Talent Show for at least the past 5 years.” Their intricate planning that went into the show, as well as the unique idea, won them second place.
This year’s House Talent Show was different from previous years’ shows because the Art’s Center was not at full capacity, meaning that the entire Upper School could not watch at once. However, substantial planning went into each performance, and practices took place after school, during flex periods, and at lunch. Each one was distinct from the other and definitely fit the ultimate goal of entertaining the Upper School with extravagant talent and comedy.