Variety Show Great Success!
November 09, 2009
CAM High School’s Variety Show “Performing with the Stars” played November 7 and 8 to very enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. Extra chairs were needed each night for the two hour display of creativity and talent by CAM High School students, alumni, teachers, and community members. The directors (Mrs. Nichols, Miss Rudolph, Mr. Berry) would like to thank the gifted and energetic students who created and participated in the show, the Music Boosters for all their behind-the-scenes work and support, and the community for being such a great audience.
The show was a parody of the popular “Dancing with the Stars” TV show, and featured judges Sha Lola Von Duel (Shaley Winther), Dushon Steaky (Brett Stakey), and Hannah Annah Banana Montana (Hannah Ankenbauer).
Hosts for the evening were Charles Ankenbauer and Caitlin Paulsen. “Stars” who competed for the crystal ball trophy, and their wanna-be performers were: Elvis Presley (Dan Holste, who serenaded his mom on one night and Mrs. Nichols on the other- both surprises); The Wreckers (Erin Steele, Michelle Stapleton, Brittany Harris); Reese’s Pieces the famous rapper (Cassidy Carr) and her Peanut Butter Cup dancers (Megan Bahntge, Emily Beerman, Jenna Kaufmann, Kaley Ladd, Angeline Larsen, Elizabeth Mailander, Ayla Penton, Shaley Winther); Cassidy also performed with the Wild Boyz from CAM’s Got Talent (DJ Whitlatch, Sawyer Hansen, Brett Sporleder, and Charles Ankenbauer); The Dixie Chicks (Sylvia Hoffman, Emily Maynard, Nichelle Whipple, Ellisa Woodruff ); Creed (lead singer Colton Carr with Daniel Selders, Sawyer Hansen, Jeff Carr, and Neil Berry); Shawn Johnson (Kelsey Smith danced with Paige Dinkla and sang with Makaye Smith); Raz Berry (Neil Berry) lost a guitar battle to Daniel Selders; and Reba McEntire (Jenna Karas) sang duets with Makaye Smith and Dan Holste as Elvis.
Special appearances by CAM’S Got Talent stars DJ Whitlatch and Brett Sporleder added some unexpected twists to the show. Alicia Pohan, CAM English teacher, made a surprising fiddle-playing appearance, and recently returned from active duty Army National Guard SSgt. Jeff Carr played guitar in Creed’s second appearance. The Spice Girls plus one (McKinze Anstey, Cassidy Carr, Paige Dinkla, Tiffany Lillard, Bailey smith, Kelsey Smith) made a guest appearance to begin the second act.
Throughout the evening, student-created commercial breaks and backstage interviews were featured on the two screens by the stage. Using our available technology, students filmed “commercials” and edited them on their computers. One of the favorite commercials was for a new company called “getajob.com”. The CAM faculty pirates (Mr. Brazell, Mr. Giegerich, Mr. Miller, Mr. Dea, Mr. Wollum, Mr. Berry) sang a ditty (ala freecreditreport.com) extolling the virtues of working at CAM High School.
Behind every act that takes the stage is a crew of dedicated people who don’t get to bow. Led by Miss Rudolph were the set, light, and video crews: Ben Dressler, Trenda Hoffman, Amber Stender, Jalynn Farmer, Stacie Scarf, Matthew Williamson, Wendy McDuff. Walker Embree provided invaluable help to Mr. Berry at the sound board. Helping Mrs. Nichols with the imovie projection and music delivery were Michaela Schwenke and Katie Peters.
The show was divided into two acts. During Act One, the judges gave comments about each act and “chose” four finalists: Creed (Colton Carr), Shawn Johnson (Kelsey Smith), Reba (Jenna Karas), and Reese’s Pieces (Cassidy Carr). These four finalists competed in the second act for the winning trophy, which was determined by actual audience vote. On Saturday night, the winner was Reese’s Pieces and on Sunday the winner was Creed!
