HANOVER — The spring talent show will go on at Frances C. Richmond Middle School.
The talent shows, which take place each fall and spring at the Hanover school, are a beloved tradition for students, staff and the greater Dresden School District community.
“I think everyone who was working on the show was super-, super-motivated to make it happen because the talent show means a lot to RMS. It’s a really strong way to unite a lot of people in the school who wouldn’t normally be together,” said Ada Callaway, an eighth grader who is part of the planning committee. “We were very, very adamant that we wanted the talent show to happen, quarantine or not.”
From 7-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, viewers can tune in online to watch the result of the efforts of more than 50 students and staff who recorded talent show acts to be part of the live, online broadcast. Part one will be broadcast Friday night and part two be broadcast Saturday night.
Instructions on how to stream the show will be found at the school’s website, frms.org. The show will double as a fundraiser for the Upper Valley Haven. People can donate directly via the Haven’s website and type “RMS talent show” in the comment section of the form to be counted as a contribution made on behalf of the show.
“The donation isn’t mandatory,” Callaway said. “It can be $5 and it’s going to a place that’s done incredible work and if that’s the least that we can do, we’re going to do it.”
Over the last few weeks, students have recorded their acts remotely and emailed them to organizers to be included in the online production. The emcees for the event will be live and talk in between the previously recorded performances. As of Tuesday, Callaway reported that there were around 30 acts coming from both students and staff.
Each act runs about 3-4 minutes, said John LaCrosse, a guidance counselor at RMS who is the show’s facilitator.
“One of the traditions of the talent show is it’s always too long,” he said with a laugh. “Because we don’t audition acts, anyone who wants to perform … can perform. That’s been a guiding principle since day one. But it means sometimes the show is long.”
Eighth grader Sayan Bhattacharya, who has performed in every talent show during his three years at RMS, is part of two performances. Along with two other students, he recorded a version Sara Bareilles’ song I Choose You. Bhattacharya recorded the piano part before sending it to his two friends who used it to sing before sending it along to their music teacher, Joshua Hall, to mix together.
“Of course I think doing it live, collaborating with my friends on stage would have been easier to sing for them and play for me, but I know during this time it’s the best we can do and it sounds like we’re singing together, the way Mr. Hall mixed it for us,” Bhattacharya said. “It was really cool to see that you could do that.”
Bhattacharya is also performing a piano solo, Nuvole Bianche by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, which he is dedicating to health care workers and first responders.
“I know a lot of people are getting bored at home and this is a way to keep us interested and see all the talent at our school,” he said. “I’m really thankful all the teachers are helping us get this done.”
Many students, unprompted, have dedicated their performances to those on the front lines of the pandemic.
“Clearly they understand this is a special event and a special time,” LaCrosse said.
In the past few years, the $5 admission cost has gone toward improvements for the auditorium, he said.
Emma Letendre, an eighth grader at RMS, has been working on the technical aspect of the talent show.
“Once we decided that we were going to do it we had to decide how we would do the show,” Letendre said in an email. “At first we were debating editing together a video and sharing it with the school but we didn’t want to do that because then students could skip past acts and we didn’t want that happening. So in the end we decided that we wanted it to be live.”
The show has also opened up opportunities for acts that might not have ordinarily found a fit on stage, Callaway said.
“We have a hockey trick shots act which couldn’t have happened in the auditorium,” she said. “Not only acts-wise, but I think people on the committee and people who have been working on this show, we’ve come up with new ways to look at things.”
Students are also looking at the virtual talent show as a way to expand their creativity.
“There’s so much more you can do at home, so many different acts. You can include your pets, you can include different parts of your family. People have more time to think of more creative things to do,” Bhattacharya said. “A lot more people are willing to do the talent show now. If they mess up, they can re-record. It opens up a lot of opportunities for people who may not perform.”
Lynn Callaway, a seventh-grade teacher at the middle school, is a longtime talent show volunteer and audience member. She said that the talent shows have become an important part of RMS tradition in the 12 years that they’ve been held.
“It’s so much fun that the audience is filled with every generation, from grandparents, siblings, parents, toddlers, neighbors, friends, it sells out,” Callaway said. “That’s the beauty of it. You’ll see students who come on stage who swagger on with lots of confidence and you have some students who come on stage and are performing in front of an audience for the first time.”
In addition to being a big night for students, the same can be said for the people in the crowd.
“Part of it too is sitting in the audience and looking around and seeing the expressions of total joy and happiness on the faces of family members and friends watching these young people,” Lynn Callaway said. “It takes a lot of courage to go up on stage in front of a completely full audience.”
The talent show has played an important role in the lives of Megan Kirkpatrick’s three children. Her youngest daughter, Erin, will be contributing a song to the virtual show, though she’s been mum to her family on what it will be.
“She was really looking forward to the talent show,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s really nice that the school is making it happen for them. Especially Erin, our youngest, is really missing school and her friends. It’s nice to still be able to have this RMS tradition, at least in our household one more time, in the midst of this pandemic.”
When the family moved to Hanover, Kirkpatrick’s oldest daughter, Anna (now a senior at Hanover High School), was missing dance, which she had done most of her life.
“John LaCrosse was really instrumental in encouraging her to participate in the talent show. She did a solo tap routine she came up with on her own and she was thrilled to be able to dance again,” Kirkpatrick said. “They’ve always been so supportive and encouraging and I think the kids feel really comfortable participating in the talent show and it’s fun to see the kids support each other.”
It’s a tradition of support and community that will continue for the upcoming show, even though they might not be together in the same room.
“We’ve all been online enough that it’s kind of second nature at this point,” Ada Callaway said. “We’ve adapted.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
