“Interpretive Screaming” was one of the many unexpectedly entertaining performances during last night’s Student Talent Show in the Little Theatre. The diverse range of performances were a breath of fresh air as student talent was the focus of the show.
Sophomore Katie Zhao, a member of “Youth,” said, “It’s all for fun and it’s a really good opportunity to show another side of ourselves.”
A highlight of the show was a captivating performance of “A Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga with freshmen Abby Roberts playing guitar and Johnny Poon singing. Poon stumbled at the start with a nervous laugh, but he recovered with an emotional performance. It sounded like a near perfect replica of the original song.
The band, “Stonerub,” featuring seniors John Coukos, Dom LoRusso, Atavio Spataro,and  junior Alex Fracktman was confident from the moment they walked onto the stage with their electric guitars and drum set. The lead singer, Spataro, started off by asking his girlfriend out to prom. He took no time to start his rock and roll performance of “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith. Although the performance was a bit loud, the performers clearly enjoyed themselves and were comfortably in their element.
An even more chaotic performance followed, when junior Ben Feldman revealed a new art form, “Interpretive Screaming,” which was a talent he discovered two weeks ago. Although the idea appears bizarre, the audience was as entertained as they were baffled by his screams. A few of his performances were: “I got Ebola from the Mcdonald’s $1 menu,” “Don’t throw bread at Smashmouth,” and “I missed Avatar in theatres, and I had to watch it on my friend’s laptop.”
Serene moments in the show were appreciated because they broke up the insanity of other acts, One such moment was sophomore Victoria  Alves’ dance to a song from the dance movie “High Strung.” She was flexible and strong as her dance involved very technical details. Her performance was akin to rhythmic gymnastics as it involved precise foot and arm movements.
In another calming performance, Gregory Mitelman played two original pieces on the piano. He has played for 11 years, and his experience showed through his stellar performance and well composed pieces. The first was upbeat and vibrant, while the second piece was dreamy.
The “Youth” dance group closed the show with an original dance to anime theme songs. The dance club recruited dancers especially for the talent show, and the same group performed at Asian Culture Night.
Special Education teacher Brian Rooney, who organized the show, said he initially “debated whether we could pull it off.” He added that he’s happy with the “diversity of acts” that performed.