Skyline hosted its second annual Performing Arts Showcase this year to show off exceptionally talented Skyline artists. It was a giant collaboration of spoken word, musical theater, choir, poetry and guitar. Ensembles from different performing-arts classes were represented, and the event was produced by the Theatre Club, with much assistance from its stage crew.

The showcase was originally created by Jude Navari, Skyline music professor, and Alan Ceccarelli, Skyline theater director. They wrote the grant last year with additional help from Amber Steele, who came in during the middle of the process. The three of them have now turned in the application for a third year of the Performing Arts Showcase.

“The Performing Arts Showcase is a variety show that we put together from all the different performance departments within the creative arts department and also the dance department, which is over in physical education,” said Steele, coordinator for the event this year.

“The purpose is to get some of the best performances out of each of the faculty’s students and then to compile that all together here,” Steele continued. “Also, as opposed to having separate bands, separate music, separate chorus, we wanted to get some collaboration going, and by doing that we’re able to provide real theater experiences for the students.”

Students danced, sang and played instruments on stage in a variety of ensemble sizes and performance lengths. Groups of students who would rarely meet otherwise were thrown together by the program to learn about a “real theater experience.”

“These are students that show exceptional skill,” Navari said. “Usually classes do end-of-the-year recitals for everyone to show their improvement. This event just gives the exceptional students, the students who have really honed their skills, a little more than the other students: a chance to perform.”

There was a vast assortment of instruments on the stage and various styles of dance. The set was interesting, and I had a chance to watch it transform from planks of wood into a cityscape. The Theatre Club not only hosted the performance, they worked hard to make sure everything went off without a hitch.

“The Performing Arts Showcase was a great opportunity for my Creative Writing students to practice performing in front of an audience,” said Katharine Harer, creative writing professor and author of several poetry books. “Three of them performed their original poetry, and one wrote a monologue and presented it. I was impressed with their courage to be the only person on stage reading in front of a closed curtain, and I was very pleased with all of their performances.”