Beyond the Spotlight
A large auditorium, placed awkwardly in the center of the high school campus, would now host the “28th Annual Talent Show Competition”! The chattering of nervously excited participants filled the air. Extravagant costumes and props glimmered under the sun's rays, which peeked from behind the half closed window curtains. Trails of vibrant sequins scattered among the blue carpeted floors, and feathers danced below the cool air that blew from the vents. Rows of cream colored, foldable chairs were placed on the right and left, leaving a thin walkway between. Family members placed their belongings down to claim chairs, and a cacophony of the dings from text messages, wails from little siblings, and faint music playing from the speakers next to the stage echoed among the vast room like loud drums. In anticipation for a wonderful show, everyone found their places as the auditorium lights began to dim. The clicking of heels became more distinct as a young woman appeared from the door on the right side of the building. As she made her way to the small table placed in front of the stage, only the silhouette of her tall figure could be made out. She wore a blazer and a mini skirt and her hair was tied up into a neat bun. The indistinct rustle of her clipboard rubbing against her blazer hushed the auditorium. She sat down, placed the clipboard on the surface of the table, and crossed her legs, watching the stage closely. On the edge of the table was a shiny, silver card propped up on a stand that read “judge.”
Backstage, all the groups crowded into a compact room that was divided into sections for hair and makeup, costume, and practice. The room had over twenty people, frantically pacing and doing last minute touch ups to their appearances and perfecting their acts. A group of girls that were going to sing sat up on the chairs in front of the mirrors and brought out their makeup supplies. They reapplied a bright pink lipstick and touched up their glittery eyeshadow. One girl began to re-curl her hair with a curling iron and her hair tumbled down her shoulders into perfect spirals. On the other side of the room, a young boy was hidden behind the enormous piano, playing discordant notes that made everyone flinch. He wore a black blazer with a white shirt underneath, and long pants that covered his sneakers. He tried to keep his fingers curled as he played each key, but his nervous hands continued to shake and play all the wrong notes.
“Ten minutes till the curtains open!” yelled the manager, in a firm voice that carried throughout the room.
Everyone began to squeal, as they tried to refocus on their practice. Moments later, a group of students that appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old burst into the room. It was clear they were from the newspaper class offered at the school, coming to interview the local elementary and middle schoolers that would soon perform for the talent show. They walked over to groups of people and pointed the cameras at themselves, their words clearly scripted.
“How long have you girls been practicing?” asked one of the students, continuing to smile at the camera and point the microphone towards the young dancers.
“Three weeks, and for…” she stopped talking and stared at her feet.
“Two hours every Friday and Saturday,” another girl said, chiming in.
“Great! Tell me about your costumes and makeup looks,” the interviewer stated, as she looked at the girls and signaled to the cameraman to zoom out.
“Our moms put these costumes together, we just told them we wanted them to have sequins and be colorful,” one girl said.
“Goodluck on your performance,” said the interviewer, smiling and walking towards another group.
“What are you guys going to be performing today?” another interviewer asked a group of boys. They wore white gloves, black suits, and the one in the middle held a large tophat, and his friends each carried different props, from a deck of cards to a red handkerchief.
“Magic, it’s going to be the best act you’ve ever seen,” said the boy in the middle, grinning at the camera.
“How long did you practice for?” asked the interviewer, listening intently.
“We perfected our act in one day, but we also practiced a little this morning,” he said in a cocky tone.
“Best of luck guys,” said the interviewer, as he patted one of the boys on the back.
The interviewers continued to walk around the small room, their equipment causing performers to stumble and groan. They interviewed all kinds of acts and met with different kids who were all excited to show off their talents, and like that it was five minutes till the curtains opened.
The performers began to nervously chatter amongst one another, flipping sequins on their costumes and tapping their legs. All the groups stayed together like bees in a hive, sitting down and trying to calm each other. The stage manager appeared from the hall once again, his clipboard in hand, headset over his ear, and his teeth chattering and legs shaking. He began calling out the names of the acts and directing them to their spot, where they must wait before performing. Everyone soon disappeared from the dressing room, and trails of sequins were left behind, showing the different directions the groups took. It seemed as though an elephant stampede had walked through the room, unzipped makeup bags were left by the mirrors and floor, different products flooding out and clothes were thrown around, covering almost every object that decorated the room.
“3…2…1,” whispered the stage manager, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes watching the first group.
The fabulous red curtain parted, the lights recentered to the stage, and the audience began to cheer. Four girls stood on the stage, each in a different pose. The girl on the very left had her arms grabbing her leg, which extended back. The two girls in the middle stood apart and pointed their arms towards each other. Lastly, the girl on the right was on the floor in a handstand position, with one leg bent, reaching her back and the other leg flexed. Immediately the music began, and the base boomed for each beat. The girls’ costumes glittered under the stage lights, and they filled the room with a new energy. The judge was looking down, sternly, at her clipboard, but once she looked up, a smile came across her face. She took some notes, but couldn’t look away for too long. She was mesmerized by the rhythm these girls had, and their confidence. The performance winded down as the girls did their last couple steps, and the music began to fade. The audience gushed and applauded, cheering the girls’ names. The judge raised her eyebrow, and clapped for the girls as well, and they walked off the stage, but their energy was left behind in the now excited auditorium.
The highschool journalists sat front row, their camera pointed at the stage and microphones dangling at the floor. They nodded at each other, a silent gesture of amazement at the performance, until the lights abruptly turned off and a hush of confusion filled the auditorium. Suddenly, the bright lights came back, but this time three boys stood in the center, each a couple of props in hand. The boy with the tophat began speaking to the audience describing his act. He exclaimed that he’d need a deck of cards, cueing to his friend to pass them, but the bottom of the cardboard package had been torn and all the cards poured out, like a waterfall. Some cards fluttered under the light, until they gracefully rested on the floor. He nervously laughed, but decided to just move on to the next act. He then told the audience he could pull out a never ending scarf, but instead there was a toy car, followed by another deck of cards, sunglasses, and many other inanimate objects. The audience was puzzled at first, but soon they began to laugh, assuming this comedy was part of the act. The judge had a muffled laugh as well, covered by the palm of her hand, before she looked down to write notes. After multiple attempts, the boy on the right threw a smoke bomb, and the boys disappeared, amazing the crowd. The highschoolers looked at eachother with confusion, unsure if that’s how the act was supposed to be or whether the boys had messed up. The judge wrote down more notes, and looked sternly at the now empty stage.
Multiple acts followed these two, and oftentimes the judge smiled at the performers, applauding their commitment and hard work for the acts and like that the final act walked off stage. The red curtains slowly moved towards one another, the gold embroidery, that was hidden in the folds of the cloth now visible for everyone to see. The audiences’ cheers echoed in the auditorium and backstage, everyone congratulated one another. The judge tallied up the final scores to determine the winners and everyone was called back out. The judge walked up to the stage and acknowledged every group's efforts and performances, but after a slight pause she announced the first act of girls, who danced, as the winners! The fours girls jumped and hugged each other, laughing, silently expressing their sense of accomplishment. They walked to the front of the stage to collect their trophies and shake the hand of the judge, who smiled at the girls. They stood for a picture, giggling uncontrollably. Despite all the excitement, the boys that performed magic didn’t place in the top five. They began to yell at each other and part ways, frustrated by each other's negligence to their act.
The high schooler’s walked up to the stage for a couple more quick interviews, dragging their cords and wires across the stage floor.
“Congratulations! But why do you girls think you got first place?” asked one of the interviewers.
“Well, we practiced so much,” one of them said, crossing her arms in a humble manner.
“So, would you say practice is more important than your final performance?” she asked, trying to get the girls to keep thinking.
“No, I think they’re equally important, actually,” said the same girl and all of them nodded along.
This experience highlighted to all the groups that during practice, one learns their strengths and prepares themselves to showcase their skills, which is done during the performance. The journey of navigating to the performance is just as important as the end. Like that, another talent show has taken place and it was an amazing success, all the groups felt proud of themselves and each other.