V-Show 2018
Monroe T.
Maine West’s annual Variety Show (V-Show) kicked off yesterday with two more performances to go: one on Nov 2 and another on Nov 3, both starting at 7 P.M. This year’s V-Show theme is Reality TV Show. The MCs are doing their very own rendition of the Bachelor that is between acts shown throughout the production.
One of the MCs, senior and homecoming queen Claire Faust, plays a girl named Tawny Reynolds, an over-the-top, ridiculously ditsy and comical character. At the end of the show, the audience is the deciding vote of who will win “the man,” Russ, played by senior Max Romza. Behind each unique contestant, there is a just as unique outcome; each show could play out differently. Faust thinks “the script and different characters allow the MCs to have a lot more fun than in previous years.” But the MCs are not the only place you’ll find entertainment.
“I love that this year we don’t just have singing acts; there’s a rap act, some cute dance acts, and some funny acting ones,” Faust said. From banjo players to trumpeters to our very own student council officers, this show was packed with the variety.
Freshman Alexis Delgado is one of the fresh new faces that you’ll see on stage, bringing equally fresh rhymes. Delgado is a rapper and started when he was in kindergarten, listening to the music his then-freshman brother was into: rap. This isn’t his first time in front of an audience either—Delgado started performing in the variety shows at his middle school in 6th grade and hasn’t stopped since. Delgado isn’t sure if he will continue rapping after high school, but you can bet to see him in the future shows at Maine West.
Faust has been an MC for three years, but she only started performing in the acts last year as a member of the school acapella group Choraliers. She’ll be there this year too, but you’ll notice that some students performing in school group acts also showcase their individual talents elsewhere, and Faust is one of those select few. She, along with four other students, are performing their own version of the song Let it Be by The Beatles. Faust grew up listening to The Beatles and actually performed Let it Be as a solo for her 5th-grade variety show, so for her last talent show, she thought it would be nice to come full circle and perform it again—with some extra pizzazz. A huge fan of the cello, Faust wanted it to be the base of the piece which is played by Holly Bleeden. From there, senior and bandstand partner to Faust Davis Parks, helped create a flugelhorn duet for himself and another band member, Carter Stephens. One last piece was needed, so Faust asked band and drumline member Collin Peters to play the drums.
Another person who you may spot multiple times on stage is senior Suha Lim. Lim has performed in the variety show since her sophomore year with the Warrior Strings. Warrior Strings is very different from a regular orchestra, Lim says, because “they have more fun and it’s less conventional,” noting that the new members have done a great job adjusting to that mentality. This year, they will be performing the song September, and Lim reassures that “yes, they know it’s not September anymore.” Lim’s other time in the (quite literal) spotlight is during her piano solo to the romantic era piece titled Fashingsschwank aus Wien. Lim began piano at the age of five, thanks to heavy encouragement from her mother, and has fallen in love with it over the past 13 years. Used to recitals and competitions, performing at this type of show is somewhat new, though Lim has already begun to showcase her talents to others through her account @suha.keys on Instagram, where she posts clips of different pieces on her page. Lim plans to continue piano in the future in some way, whether it be in music education or private lessons on her own, she wants to keep the gift in her life. Lim says that her favorite thing about piano is the ability to express herself through it. “I love the feeling of perfecting a piece and knowing that my playing made an impact on someone else,” Lim says. And of course, she can’t forget the thing about piano we can all relate to: “it sounds pretty.”
The talents mentioned are phenomenal reasons to see the show, but even they have their own ideas about which acts are their favorites. Delgado likes the drumline and color guard. Another favorite according to Faust is the dance duet Change Your Mind performed because of the “emotion, weight, and beauty it brings.” Lim personally likes Orchesis, declaring that the girls’ talent gave her chills and the boys always make her laugh.
Whether you’re going for the outstanding talent or to see who the lucky gal is that gets to take homecoming king Max Romza home, it is bound to be a blast. For just $7 ($5 if you bring canned food), you can get out to see what talents Maine West has to offer; it’ll be like watching your favorite reality TV show, but with even better people.
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