Senior Planning has had their hands full for quite some time. Organizing Thursday Night Live (TNL) was only one event that required extensive time and dedication from all, but as always, they helped to put on a fantastic show.
The beginning plans for TNL took place last year, when the Splanners picked a date. However, the real fun began after students returned from Winter Break.
First, they set up auditions. Students wishing to audition were given one week to submit three minute long videos, which was the requirement for the act length in the show, instead of staying after school to audition. Afterwards, Senior Planning members spent three days in class watching the videos and then voted as a group. “It was a lot easier to have people send in videos because everyone got the opportunity to watch each audition. We took notes for every video so we weren’t scrambling to remember information about each act when we voted,” senior Nina Wagner said.
After deciding which acts made the cut, it was time to organize them into Act I and Act II. Since there were only two dance acts in the show, the Splanners ensured that there was one dance act in each half of the show to add variety.
The next step was determining the hosts. In previous years, students who wished to host the show auditioned, but this year Senior Planning reached out to seniors who had expressed interest to them in hosting. Alisha Dhallan and Georgia Bartels-Newton were chosen to host Act I, while Stephanie Botchway and Jack Pugh took on Act II. The hosts have no easy task. Both pairs were required to submit script for their respective act by Feb. 6 to have it approved by administration. Additionally, each duo made an introductory video to play before their time as hosts. “I definitely underestimated the time needed to write up the script and make the video but I think I speak for Alisha and myself when I say we are very proud of our work,” senior Bartels-Newton said.
While all of this was happening, Wagner, Alyssa Yi and Maddie Greenberg were designing shirts for all of Senior Planning, hosts and performing acts. “Everyone participating in TNL wears the shirts on Thursday (Feb. 9) to advertise the show. The shirts also serve as the ticket for the acts to get into the show,” Wagner said.
The real madness began with rehearsals, beginning on Feb. 7. That Tuesday, all acts got 10 minutes on stage for a run through to work out any kinks and ensure the lighting was perfect, thanks to the tech crew.
The next day, there was a mandatory dress rehearsal. There were two complete run-throughs of the show, including all videos and hosts. At the end, each participant received their shirt.
On Thursday, the show went on without a hitch. Senior Planning, the acts and the hosts finally got to see all of their hard work pay off after extensive preparation, even if there were obstacles along the way. “The most challenging part of planning TNL was the time constraint. The preparation for TNL was very similar to that of POTH (Puttin’ on the Hitz), but this time we had a much shorter time frame. However, in the end I think everyone did a great job managing time to make everything work,” senior class president Darren Bogart said.
Sydney Cohen
Features Editor
