A soft silence falls over the audience as a voice rises high following the slow tempo of the piano. The Commons is brimming with students, parents and teachers as sophomores Divyaveda Vadlamudi and Jacob Kaplan-Davis begin their performance.
People lay on the couch, sit in the numerous chairs around the room and stand in the back, captivated by the performers on stage. On April 12, the school’s Literary Magazine (LitMag) hosted Coffeehouse, a venue for students to showcase their talent and a way for LitMag to raise funds for their upcoming magazine.
Coffeehouse takes place twice a year. Students are given the opportunity to perform in front of friends, family and faculty once in the fall and once in the spring. The usually jam-packed Commons is a relaxing environment during the event, decorated with fairy lights and wall tapestries.
The members of LitMag promote the event, hold auditions for the performers and stay in school from 7:40 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. on the day of Coffeehouse to set up before it begins and clean up after everyone leaves. Attendees are not only able to witness the talent the school has to offer, but also enjoy tasty snacks and a hot cup of coffee. “We set up by picking up furniture from all around the school, tables and chairs. It’s important for us to have Coffeehouse because it gives us exposure to the rest of the student body. People are able to look at the magazines we produce and buy them,” sophomore McKenna Shay said.
There were around 24 performers and 120 attendees at Coffeehouse. Among the performers was GAAP, a band consisting of junior Anthony Rospigliosi and alumnus Samuel Camacho who sang Tear in My Heart by Twenty One Pilots. “Being on stage is the best feeling in the world; it has been my dream to play guitar on stage. To any upcoming musicians who are still thinking about music and want it to be a career, take it seriously; go hard on yourself. If you can’t hit those high notes, just yell them,” Camacho said.
Through Coffeehouse, students who were first-time performers were able to experience the feeling of being on stage. Sophomore Samantha Ricciardella, who played Demons by Imagine Dragons fingerstyle guitar version, enjoyed guitar class so much that it led to her performing at Coffeehouse. “I just wanted to see how it was to perform, I most likely will do this again,” Ricciardella said.
This was junior Jay Capitelli’s fifth performance at Coffeehouse. This time, Capitelli was accompanied by sophomore Madelyn Etman, who was a first-time performer. The duet sang come out and play by Billie Eilish. “It’s definitely an amazing experience that everybody should try to go to. It’s a great way to start performing; my first time ever performing was at Coffeehouse,” Capitelli said.
