Keystone Oaks puts on 89th annual Varieties show

The students of Keystone Oaks put on the 89th annual Varieties show Thursday,  November 9th, and Saturday, the 11th. On Friday afternoon, the students also invited elders to the school for brunch and a performance.

Under the direction of long-time sponsor, English teacher Nancy Kraemer, the show was a success. Kraemer first got involved with show when she was student teaching in 2002, and after english teacher Vivian Mcmanus retired, Kraemer took over full time.

“My favorite part about the process is getting to work with students outside of class and getting to know them better,” Kraemer explained.

Although Kraemer stressed some of the difficulties that come with putting on the show including “getting the students to commit to practices while they’re involved in so many other activities”.

The production showcases so many different talents, including fan favorite, the drumline.

Senior Ben Hommrich has been apart of the drumline and the show itself for the past four years. Hommrich’s favorite part of the show is “when someone you don’t expect to do good ends up killing it!”

Hommrich also had many family members in attendance, including his mother, father and other relatives. Another fan favorite act was the high school dance team led by captains Victoria Knoche and Tabitha Corwin.

Knoche has participated for the past four years and stressed, “you can’t let your nerves take over, it’s so fun to go out on stage and get cheered on by friends and their families.”

For her first year participating, sophomore Jessica Laporte decided to showcase her voice and guitar skills.

“I get very nervous before I perform but I had a lot of fun and I had so many supportive people around me like my friends and family,” Laporte said.
Another act that literally lit up the stage was the twirlers led by captain Hayley Anderson. Anderson is a senior and has participated for the past two years, she was also apart of the visual ensemble act.

“I love the rush I feel and the energy from everyone in the crowd is something I can’t describe, especially when use our light up batons.”

The students that participated in their last show stressed “if you thought this year was good, just wait until next year.”
Next year will mark the 90th performance, let’s see if it can top what audiences saw this year.