Movies are fiction—until they aren’t.

Everyone wants to experience a movie moment in their lifetime, but few actually have. Junior Josie Butler is one of the few. Her experience of winning the 2022 FHC Talent Show was an unforgettable moment.

“Last year was literally out of a movie,” Josie said. “Halfway through my song, when the song really starts picking up, everyone put on their flashlights on their phones. It was like a scene out of a movie. I will never feel that feeling ever again. Seeing people’s reactions to something I love and seeing them receive it so well felt really good.”

At last year’s show, Josie and her piano accompanist Junior Lauren Roth performed “You Say” by Lauren Daigle, which was a smashing success. This year, Josie will be performing an Adele song at the show this year: a homage to her roots in talent competitions, as she performed songs by Adele at both her seventh and eighth talent shows.

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Josie and Lauren were one out of many incredible performances at last year’s talent show, and this year will be no different. There are many types of acts in this year’s show, including vocal performances, other displays of musicianship, and even some comedy acts.

“I haven’t really seen any of the other acts,” Josie said, “but the ones I have seen are pretty good. But, it’s not really about winning for me. I just love the experience of performing. It’s my thing; I love it.”

This love of performing is what makes many of the acts of talent so spectacular. They each put in hours of hard work to share something they love to do. The natural talent in the show is enormous, but so is the amount of effort.

Because of this, the judges of this year’s show—seniors Andrew Weiscopf, Breyon Dawson, Gabby Hendricks, and Kyle Friar—are not only judging the acts on pure talent, but also on the amount of apparent effort that they put into their acts. Gabby, the only female judge, wants to hold her own in this way.

“I’ll probably judge [the acts] on talent, effort, and overall performance,” Gabby said. “I want to see acts that people put a lot of effort and time into and to see a lot of quality performances. I’m super excited [to be a judge].”

Gabby, who was not expecting to be a judge for the show but is enthusiastic nonetheless, is looking to be entertained at the show. She wants to laugh and have a great time, and for that reason, she is most looking forward to seeing the comedy acts.

“I really like comedy,” Gabby said. “I really feel like we’ve got a lot of funny people [in the show]. I think that might be the most enjoyable to watch and might get the highest ratings from the judges.”

Comedy acts are fan favorites, gaining smiles and—hopefully—laughs from the crowd, but some viewers gain more enjoyment from watching the musical acts.

Singing, especially, comes from a place in the heart. If the performer is passionate about what they are singing, emotions are often a major part of the performance. Senior Emma Costello, a host of the event, along with fellow senior Evan Lubben, is most excited to see acts like these.

“My favorite type of act is normally singing,” Emma said, “because, a lot of times, it’s a surprise. [For] some of the people that tried out I was like, ‘I had no idea you could sing,’ and they were so good, too. I’m excited to see people’s reactions to those [acts].”

Every single act in the talent show will be incredible just because of the fact that the performers are sharing their passion with their peers. Nerves are sure to be high, and even Emma, a host, is feeling nervous about speaking in front of a room of people.

Each act, a separate entity, will come together in one night, and there is only one chance to see it.

“I’m very excited to see everyone’s reactions to the different acts that are involved,” Emma said. “[I’m excited] to watch the acts come together as one. Everyone should come out to the show because it’s going to be a lot of fun, and you can see a bunch of people do what they love doing.”

Despite the nerves, despite the fear of judgment, despite all the factors that warn them against walking across a stage in front of the people they see every day, each and every one of the performers has chosen to share their passion, and that is an amazing thing to witness.

The judges, hosts, and performers value every single person that comes to view their collective effort. Each one wants to see your face in the crowd, from Gabby, an opinionated judge, to Emma, an enthusiastic host, to Josie, a talented, brave performer.

“People should come because you never know what you’re going to see,” Josie said. “It’s not only singing; there’s a lot of fun and pretty funny acts. It’s really entertaining and a way to support your peers and to see people like me, who want to share their passions.”