Correction below in bold.

By Lori BODNAR, intern

Over 50 students participated virtually in the Mountain Avenue Elementary School Talent Show on Feb. 18. The PTA co-chairs were Jennifer Peñez and Latha Risso; however, the event is a true team effort with the help of volunteer parents Wendy Goldsworthy and Michelle Paxton assisting. The group has worked together on the Mountain Avenue talent shows every year for three years. The talent shows used to be held every other year and were limited in scope to a small number of student acts since the show was held as an assembly during the school day. Consequently competition was keen and some students were disappointed not to have “made the cut” after tryouts. PTA decided to oversee the event and hosted annual talent shows so all interested students could showcase their amazing – and varied – talents.

A somber note in the show was that it was dedicated to the memory of Peñez’s baby daughter Jazlyn Katana who tragically passed away from an accident the week of the talent show.  

“We are all heartbroken for the family’s loss,” said parent Jackie Bodnar. “Jennifer was a past PTA-president at Mountain Avenue, and she and her husband have volunteered many hours for the school and also brought the talent show and culture night PTA events to Mountain Avenue.”   

The talent show format also had a different look due to the pandemic.

“This year we did not have auditions, and everything was submitted online via Flipgrid video,” explained Latha Risso, one of the organizers. “We used every single submission. We made an iMovie of these video submissions and shared it on a school-wide Zoom on the talent show night.”

Risso added that she thought some students participated in the online show who otherwise would not if it was live.  

“I’m hoping this will give them the confidence to participate in years to come,” Risso said, “though nothing can replace live theatre, with the lights, the sound, the feedback, the excitement, the adrenaline, and taking center-stage.”

Risso said that there were challenges for the team to coordinate an online event.

“While all of us are experts at putting on a live show, none of us had ever had to download 53 videos, put them in a good show order and upload them back into an iMovie,” she said. “It’s really a different expertise, but we did it! Principal Scott was so supportive and really became the online coordinator of the event. Without her care and support, this event could not have happened.”

The online experience changed the way the organizers thought about the show and Risso said in the future videos for talents that cannot be done on the stage might be incorporated into the show.

“I am so impressed with the level of talent from our students this year. From horseback riding to ice skating to singing or playing an instrument, our student talents shined bright,” said Principal Scott. “I am incredibly thankful to PTA for continuing our traditional events during distance learning.”

PTA President Kathyryn Necus agreed that a virtual event could be more inclusive.

“We are so impressed with our talented Mountain Avenue students! Despite not having a live show, our students put on a fantastic, virtual event. It was such a joy to see our students showcase their talents. Our PTA and entire school community are so thankful for the variety show parent team – Latha Risso, Jennifer Penez, Wendy Goldsworthy, and Michelle Paxton. They worked tirelessly to turn a live show into a fabulous, virtual event,” she said.

For example, some of the talents exhibited were snowboarding, bodysurfing, ATV-riding, horseback riding and ice-skating, and the presentation of an animation video, which would not be possible to showcase in the traditional in-person stage format.

For her talent, student Kara Welch submitted a video of her on horseback.

“Horseback riding is my passion and I was excited to share a talent not everyone has seen before,” said Kara. “I have been practicing riding since I was 4 years old and have been practicing jumping with horse Epona since the beginning of the shutdown. I liked that there was a variety of acts we normally would not be able to see in the auditorium.”

Zachary Yang presented his animated movie clip called “Friends.”

“This was my first year [in] the talent show since I am usually a shy person,” said Zachary, “but I like making animation, so what better year than this year to do it, when the Talent Show was held virtually? I took around three hours to make the animation. The crazy thing is that I had to draw around 210 pictures to make an animation only 20 seconds long!”

There were also more traditional talents in the show such as students playing instruments including piano, guitar, violin, accordion, drums, cello and viola. Other acts were singing, reciting poems, performing gymnastics, reading their own published book, demonstrating martial arts, leading a short meditation calming, playing an Armenian folk tune, performing an “Among Us” skit, drawing, telling dog jokes, showing flipbook art, cup stacking, dancing, hula hooping and demonstrating taekwondo.

Sixth-grader Avril Coba performed taekwondo with nun-chuks and in the culmination scene she broke a brick.

“I’ve been doing taekwondo since kindergarten and last year I already did an act in-person for the talent show,” she said. “I decided to do nun-chucks again since it’s what I’m best at, but the breaking was upgraded from two boards to a garden brick. It took me around three to four weeks to prepare for the show.”

Maya Manchikatla played the drums for the talent show and fourth-grader Lily Gibson sang the song “Snowman” by Sia in the talent show.

Suzy Bodnar, another fourth grader, sang an original song she composed entitled, “Love.”

“I came up with my act because I enjoy singing,” she said. “I sang what was in my heart and went with the flow.”

The students enjoyed the Mountain Avenue Talent Show and appreciated the diversity the online experience allowed.

“Last year’s show was exciting because there was a live audience, but I liked being able to record my own performance and take many tries to get the perfect video,” said Lilly. “I also liked that my distant relatives could join the Zoom and watch it as well.”

The organizers of the talent show have backgrounds in theatre and writing, which sparks their dedication to the Mountain Avenue Talent Show.

“I have a degree in theatre, and I can’t think of a better way to help my community,” said Risso. “I accidentally walked into a final dress rehearsal four years ago and saw that they weren’t using directional lighting on the stage and the audience lights were up full blast. I used my theatre expertise to properly light the stage. I have been involved ever since. I also love seeing what the kids come up with every year! They are so creative and super-talented.”