Every year during homecoming week, students will find themselves busy every night. Whether it is with sports games, matches, meets, or practices, the addition of it being Homecoming Week really adds to the daily itinerary for the students and staff. On Wednesday evening, there is the Variety Show, and on Thursdays used to bring the powder-puff games (girls’ flag football games). And on Friday, there is a pep rally, a football game, and a Homecoming Dance. The highlight of many peoples’ Friday nights is the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen. However, my highlight of Homecoming Week was the Variety Show. 

     Due to the Variety Show being on Wednesday, senior students who were acting in the Variety Show had to practice for the performance, as it was not an easy show to improvise. Practices ran for roughly two hours on the previous evenings of the show. The Monday and Tuesday preceding were stressful. The night of the show brought the most fun and excitement, yet the most stress. Emcees for the Variety Show this year included Brody Williams, Hannah Zamora, Maryn Zeck, and myself, Nolan Hahn. Running the Variety Show comes with responsibilities others do not have, and one of these responsibilities was finding ways to work around some technical difficulties. Mrs. Burch has dealt with some confusion and difficulties over time, as she has been a major part of the show for years. When asked how long she has been a part of the variety show, she said, “I have been doing the Variety Show and Homecoming for ten years now! (How in the world did that happen?!).” Throughout these ten years, she has dealt with her fair share of difficulties. Mrs. Burch said this about the difficulties interfering with the variety show, “Confusion & technical difficulties are always a part of a ‘Live Show.’ I’m sure it was way more stressful for the students than it was for myself and Mr. Wilson…because we are used to it. I thought that everyone handled it all very well! It seemed like everyone all knew “The Show Must Go On” and you guys all made it happen! I saw a lot of student support & collaboration backstage, which is a wonderful thing!” 

     This confusion did stress the students more than Mrs. Burch and Mr. Wilson. They have been doing it for years, and while the students have not dealt with these difficulties yet, they found a way to make it work. Hannah Zamora, an emcee, was one of the students who had to deal with confusion and felt the pressure of the Variety Show more than others, and she said “Yes, I was definitely nervous since they kept changing the orders of the acts at the last minute. It was nerve-wracking going out on stage having to say improvised lines.” There was also word that this year’s show was considered “subpar” compared to some of the past, but Zamora disagrees. She says, “I would say they’re about even; they were both rushed and not planned very well. I would say this year’s though, partially because I was in it rather than watching it as a spectator.” On the other hand, Mrs. Burch cannot even pick a favorite Variety Show. She had to say this, “After ten years, I have a lot of ‘favorites!’ But I think it’s impossible to pick just one! Every year, I have a blast! I so enjoy just being able to work with the seniors on a completely different level! Being able to just be silly & have fun, is what makes it all worth any confusion and technical difficulties that may come up! The Variety Show & hanging out with the students makes HOCO one of my favorite parts of the year!” 

     Many acts included either singing or dancing, and they were all great. However, the senior football players perform a dance every year, and they seem to be the star of the show. Both Hannah and Mrs. Burch said their favorite act was the football players dancing. Hannah had little to say about her favorite, as she said, “I would have to say the football boys’ performance. The outfits and dance really put it all together for them.” On the contrary, Mrs. Burch had much more to say, whereas she said, “I thought all of the acts did a great job! I was so proud of all of them! As far as the skits go there were a lot of funny things going on! Nolan’s Hahn’s “Big Eyes” etc… But, I do think I have to say the senior football players ‘ballet’ to “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” was my favorite this year! They did an awesome job & it was so funny and relatable to everyone! It was something that the entire audience could get.” Senior football player, Nick Park, felt his dance with the football players was expected to be many people’s favorites. He said, “I think it was a fun dance with the beach balls and with our colorful tutu outfits. Our strong football players doing such a delicate dance really made the crowd laugh, as it was an unexpected dance for us to pull off. I expected our dance to be a favorite of many people who were present at the Variety Show.” 

     Mrs. Burch also had a special shout-out to say to two of the participants who never miss a variety show: Jennifer Romero and Will Rose. Mrs. Burch praises them for their talent they bring each year, and this was said, “Through the years, we have had “repeat performers” in the act portion of the show…but I must say that two seniors have been in the Variety Show more consistently than any other students involved in the last ten years…it’s going to be very different to not have Jennifer Romero and her awesome talent of her beautiful voice next year! Along with Mr. Will Rose and his added “variety” to the Variety Show with his Magic! These two Seniors have been staples to the Variety Show all through their years!! They will be missed!! It was a great job by ALL the Seniors! Very proud of you seniors who participated and helped put on a wonderful show! You will all be missed!”

     This year’s variety show brought many great acts, from Jennifer Romero’s excellent singing to the duet of Mrs. Stephanie Barker and Ms. Gwen Barker singing ‘Toast’ with a real toaster as an instrument, and even with Will’s magic tricks stunning the crowd. This year has been another year for great acts to be on display to the public, and people will have to wait to watch or put their talents on display at THE Lewis Cass Homecoming Variety Show next year.