Virtual Talent Show Takes Center Stage

Rinae Cotton, Reporter|September 30, 2020

One thing the pandemic won’t stop is this year is the talent show, even though it is going to live-streamed to enable a large audience to enjoy the acts.

The Oct. 3 show is going to be live-streamed from Lemmond Theatre’s YouTube channel to follow the guidelines set by the university. Darcy Brodmerkel, Director of Student Engagement, she has high hopes she has for the talent show as she organizes it with staffers.

She said students who sign up need to describe plans for their acts to enable preparations, such as special equipment needs, to be made.

A majority of the acts consist of singing and dancing, and one of Brodmerkel’s concerns is maintaining social distance, particularly with those performing duets. Brodmerkel was forced to make changes, including the number of people permitted on stage at the same time.

Each student or act have an opportunity to rehearse, but all rehearsals are done on the same day. Students will do a run-through of their acts, and then they are filmed during the final performances.

The homecoming king and queen will be named revealed individually and the live crowning will take place afterward on the lawn.

“The talent show is the highest attended event at the university. This year’s attendance seems to be a bit lower,” Brodmerkel said.

She said she hopes students attend more events on campus, and she encourages students to attend other events where they can have fun, get exercise, and still be assured they will be safe.

Isaac Glidewell, who is helping promote the talent show and also performing a singing act, said he wasn’t surprised the show went on this year.

“I feel that students will feel intrigued in how the show will be run but excited it is still going on,” he said.

Alexa Wolfgang, a junior who is also participating in the talent show, said she is happy the show is still happening this year.

She added that she is excited to share her talent with people, especially because this is her first talent show performance.

“The thing I look forward to the most in the talent show is being able to share my passion for singing with everyone watching,” Wolfgang said. “I decided to participate this year because I have let fear hold me back from participating in past years and I realized during the pandemic that life is short, and I no longer wish to hold myself back because of fear.”

Brodmerkel stated she is getting help from work-study students to do the advertising for the show, and other departments are assisting in getting the word out through social media, which also helps get out information about safety guidelines.
“The challenging part is setting everything up due to COVID regulations and hoping students will watch it because it is always such a big event live and in person,” Brodmerkel said.
She said working with the staff and students is her favorite part of the process.
“The biggest joy I get is working with the students and helping to make their college experience the best it can be,” she said. “I just like to have fun and want others to have fun as well.”