Senior Erin Maloney auditions to be a 2010 variety show host. Photo Credit JENNA LUKS
BY RACHEL SHARPE
Last Tuesday, September 21st, over forty eager CCHS students came out to the Senior Variety Show Host auditions held in CTV advisor Alfredo Pichardo’s room. The Variety Show, which will take place on December 9th and 10th, is the annual senior hosted talent show. The show also serves as the largest fundraiser of the year for the senior class.
Although the acts for the Variety Show are open to all students at CCHS, the job of hosts are specifically for seniors. The main responsibilities of a Variety Show host include choosing the acts that will be in the show and writing and performing humorous skits to entertain the audience. The hosts who are chosen, must above all be dedicated. They must also display a sense of humor, stage presence and popularity among the student body.
With the overwhelming amount of students who auditioned this year, it is certain that the class of 2011 is determined to make this year’s Variety Show the best one yet. For many students, the opportunity to be a Variety Show host is something they have been looking forward to for years.
“It has been my dream to be a Variety Show host since my freshmen year,” senior Mary Newsome said. “I want to be able to make people laugh and showcase my many talents, such as singing, dancing, and acting.”
One by one, students were called in to audition in front of a panel of senior officers and teacher judges. The students were judged on overall personality, comedic appeal, stage presence and originality. They were then asked to provide some skit suggestions for the show.
“I had an idea for an Inception Detention skit where a kid would fall asleep in class and his teacher and classmates would perform inception on him to make him think he was in detention,” senior Maxine Shepard said.
The students were then tested on their improvisational skills. Some students were asked what they would do if they were locked inside an airplane bathroom, or how they would react if they were Taylor Swift being told off by Kanye West at the 2010 VMA’s. Many students were also asked to impersonate their favorite or least favorite teacher at CCHS.
“I would love to be a Variety Show host because I have great stage presence and love interacting with crowds,” senior Daniel Kleinman said. “I know I can contribute creative ideas for skits and put some witty humor in there too.”
Each audition lasted 5-10 minutes, depending on how well the student did. If they displayed potential, they were asked extra questions in order to determine their comedic appeal. Callbacks for the auditions took place the next day. The main act auditions will take place on October 12th, for acts and October 14th, for bands.
“Overall, I think the Variety Show will go well,” Pichardo said. “We had a great turnout at the host auditions and some of the students were very talented.”
The hosts were announced on Tuesday, September 28th. This year’s seven lucky Variety Show hosts will be Angel Pichardo, Marc Sorrentino, Dillon Puswold, Maxine Shepard, Erin Maloney, Mary Newsome and Michele Magaro.
