Talent at this school is abundant and Thursday Night Live — or TNL — is a great way to put that talent on display. Whether it be singing, dancing, or skits, students took the opportunity on Feb. 6 to compete for a cash prize as the reward for winning the school-wide talent show.

The diverse set of performances that took place during TNL made it a night to remember. “It’s really hard to choose a favorite but Andrew Firestone’s act was crazy good and his talent is really unique. The whole audience loved it and his first place award was very well deserved,” junior Rishika Jadhav said.

Firestone performed a series of incredibly accurate impressions of varying characters — including figures from Harry Potter, SpongeBob SquarePants and Star Wars — which won him the first place prize. The first place prize for TNL was $100, the second place prize was $50, and the third place prize was $25.

Students brought back the holiday cheer at TNL with a Santa’s Snowmen performance. “My favorite act was Santa’s Snowmen. Christmas music any time of the year makes me so happy and excited for Christmas…even when it’s almost a year away,” sophomore Elizabeth Ipe said. 

TNL underwent extensive planning behind the scenes, which was led by Senior Planning. “To prepare for the event, we recorded SNL parody videos, watched audition tapes, chose the set list and organized the rehearsals,” senior and member of Senior Planning Macy Fewell said.

This effort seemed to pay off, as TNL succeeded in providing a unique opportunity to its participants to express themselves to their peers. “The best part for me was being able to express my creativity to create my own renditions of music while incorporating my culture to share with the school community,” senior Ashna Bhatia said.

TNL proved to be more than just a talent show, as it became a way for students participating and attending to further integrate themselves into the school community. “I think more students should participate in TNL because it is a great opportunity to perform and get involved with the school,” Fewell said.

Members of the school community who attended the event were able to get more involved in the school, as their presence not only provided support for the performing students, but also created financial contributions for the senior class funds. “TNL is a fun and quick performance that the school loves to come to. It also showcases how talented our school is while funding our senior class as well,” Jadhav said.

Thursday Night Live was a clear success, as participating students received a unique opportunity to share their talents with the community and bring the school together to not only appreciate their skilled performances, but also support the common cause of funding the school’s senior class.