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4 | February 27, 2020 | The lake forest leader NEWS
LakeForestLeaderDaily.com
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 2 days ago
Lake Forest High School students perform at annual talent show
Peter Kaspari, Editor
Lake Forest High
School’s got talent, and
a variety of students are
showing it off in front
of a live audience at the
school’s annual talent
show.
The show runs for three
days, starting on Thursday,
Feb. 27 and ending on Saturday,
Feb. 29.
And according to student
director Luke Gulson,
18, this year’s show
is packed with students
showcasing a wide variety
of talents.
“This year, we’ve got a
lot of good stuff,” he said.
“A lot of things I’m really
excited for.”
He highlighted just a
few of this year’s talented
students, including a wide
variety of musical performances
and a student performing
a yo-yo routine,
which he said is a favorite
of audiences every year.
There’s also two students
who are performing
a comedy routine.
“There’s a freshman girl
that’s doing a solo dance
act, so that’ll be really interesting,”
he said. “She’s
really good, really talented.
We’ve got the dance
team doing a routine, so
that’ll be fun. There’ll be
a lot of people on stage
(and) a lot of people will
come out for that.”
Gulson said one of his
friends is performing a
music act inspired by the
late Frank Zappa, which
will include a guitar solo
and a percussion routine.
There will also be an
acapella performance.
“Overall, a lot of cool
stuff,” he said. “A lot of
music, great talent.”
Gulson has been a part
of the talent show all four
years he’s been at Lake
With her bass guitar in hand, Martha Clifford (right)
performs her song while her sister, Kay Clifford, plays
the acoustic guitar at left.
Student director Luke Gulson offers some pointers to
one of the acts during Lake Forest High School talent
show rehearsals.
Forest High School. He
said planning always takes
a lot of effort. This year’s
planning for the show
started all the way back in
November.
“It’s a lot of work, a lot
of effort,” he said. “You’ve
got to get everything
straightened up and everything.
Figure out a show
order that makes sense.
A good way to display all
of the different talents in
a way that kind of makes
sense to the audience.”
Rehearsals for the show
also went very well. He
said the rehearsals are important
for fine-tuning the
acts and figuring out if
they need anything else.
For example, Gulson
said some acts will go on
stage and learn that they’ll
need a guitarist to accompany
them, so he and the
other students involved
in the show will have to
figure out how to achieve
that.
“Overall, everything’s
sounding great, everyone’s
looking great,” he said.
“I’m really excited for
what we got this year.”
He added that he recommends
people come to the
show to see the students
and their skills.
“(The performers)
want to show off these
sorts of things that maybe
they don’t always get the
chance to show off,” he
said. “And it’s nice because,
if you’re at the high
school, if you’re a mom or
dad, if you’re a kid, you
get to see all these other
people that you know,
and kind of recognize you
Lake Forest High School student Adler Hermann shows off his drumming skills during
rehearsals for the school’s talent show, which is from Feb. 27-Feb. 29. Photos by
Peter Kaspari/22nd Century Media
Niki Singh plays the piano during rehearsals for the Lake Forest High School talent
show.
didn’t know that so and
so played guitar, or knows
how to do some cool yo-yo
tricks.”
The talent show is a fundraiser
sponsored by the
high school’s Association
of Parents and Teachers,
or APT. And according to
Carolyn DeLuca, the cochair
of the talent show,
this is the only fundraiser
the APT does at the high
school.
While APT sponsors
the show, DeLuca said she
and the other parents take
a hands-off approach and
let the students do pretty
much everything.
“From an APT standpoint,
we’re here to make
sure things run well and if
they need anything,” she
said. “But really, they’re
the ones doing the heavy
lifting. I love watching
their creativity come alive
and seeing them rise to the
occasion to lead the other
kids.”
She also praised the students
involved in the show
for their professionalism.
“And it’s been such a
positive environment, with
giving great feedback to
help make the acts stronger,”
she said, adding that
students of all ages and all
extracurricular and academic
interests participate.
The money raised by
the talent show goes right
back to the kids and helps
plan events such as prom.
Tickets can be purchased
online at lakeforestschools.org.
They are
$25 for adults and $15 for
children and students.