At Etown, many students have talents most people may not know about. So, what better way to show off those many talents than with a talent show? This year, Etown’s Founder’s Hall RAs put together the talent show with the help of Taylor Thompson, the Residence Hall Director (RD).
From hosting celebrity judges such as Druski, Drake and Simon Cowell, the talent show was a pleasure to attend. There was a supportive atmosphere that was hard to ignore, and it felt great to be part of such a friendly community event.
Taylor Thompson, RD, for Founder’s Hall and a part-time student in the Japanese language program, said that each building has two events each school year, and that the inspiration for the talent show came to life due to her RAs.
“It was all my RAs. I said we needed a building event, and they came up with this,” Thompson said. “I think it originally started with Kaylee’s floor theme. Her first one was Druski, so that kind of is where it came from. Then, it expanded to a full celebrity judge panel.”
The show the judges put on had all the elements an audience could want: dry humor, liveliness and above all else, a supportive panel.
The evening started with a cover of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift, performed by Kat Schoch, a freshman majoring in social work. Schoch said their inspiration for performing “All Too Well” stemmed from a love for Taylor Swift, and that “All Too Well” shares such an emotional depth that they can relate to.
“But that song specifically is beautifully written,” Schoch said. “It has a lot of emotional depth to it. Personally, I share a lot with that song.”
Schoch had high votes from the judges with their cover song, and a brilliant audience who gave a very warm cheer at the end.
The talent show ended with a musical duet performed by two students to “Love Is an Open Door” by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana, and lots of laughter from both the audience and performers.
In the end, it was songwriter and music therapy major Rita Tonsa who won a $50 Amazon gift card with her original song, “Is This What I Think It Is?”
When asked about her inspiration for the song, Tonsa remarked, “That was just when you’re in high school, and you’re interacting with all these different people; different feelings come up. And so, for me, writing has always been my major outlet for those feelings.”
Listening to all those wonderful, emotional, and comedic performances was such a nice community event to attend after a stressful week of classes. Sometimes, all you need is to just unwind by sharing a few laughs with people you know, and hopefully get to meet some people you don’t.
Watching people have the ability to share something they love with their community is such an honor, and every performer that night gave their very best. It isn’t easy to walk up on a stage, look out to an audience of your peers, and perform. It takes a lot of courage to sing or give a stand-up performance. But, no matter the outcome, it’s always best to put yourself out there.
Schoch agreed, “It’s really scary to get up in front of a crowd and sing a song and have that fear of judgment set in.” But their advice was, “People are going to be mean, and people are going to judge you no matter what you do. So, you might as well have fun while you’re doing it.”
So, next time there’s a talent show, consider signing up. It’s better to have tried and failed than spend your whole life wondering ‘what-if’.
