By Melissa Copleand
Peninsula College’s annual talent show was held Friday night in the Little theater. A variety of 13 acts took the stage to perform their hearts out for a chance to win the first place prize of a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to perform at the 2017 Juan De Fuca Festival. 2nd and 3rd place prizes were a $300 and $200 scholarship.
Between acts judges took turns letting the acts know what they liked about them. The judges consisted of Dan Maguire, Executive Director of the Juan de Fuca Foundation; Cathy Haight, Juan de Fuca Foundation President; Dr. Luke Robins, Peninsula College Presiden; and Alicia Dugan, ASC Director of Event Planning.
Alex Losee and Kelly Kevershan hosted the event, introducing each act as well as adding a little comedy throughout the night.
Interstate 90 kicked off the night with an electrifying performance of the song “Plug in Baby” by Muse. The band consisted of two lead guitars, a backup guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drums.
Kylie Graham slowed things down a bit with her rendition of the song “Rise Up” by Andra Day.
“This song was definitely a good showcase of your talents and you sang it beautifully,” said Cathy Haight. Graham definitely did ‘Rise Up’ to the challenge.
Next up was Ray Bowlby. He had a bit of a rocky start with a few technical problems, but once resolved he immediately stole the crowd’s attention with his performance of an original song. His rough start definitely had little effect on his overall performance as Bowlby took home the third place prize.
Shaelee Evans played a ukelele tune, that was both rythmecal and relaxing, a change in pace from the previous acts.
The Beatboxing master himself, Ivan Sitohang, an international student from Indonesia, then took the stage immediately becoming a top contender for first place. Ivan told the full house a captivating story with his one man band.
“Wow, that’s really a tough act to follow up on. You got a lot going for you,” said Dan Maguire, “You were born to shine.” And shine he did as Sitohang took second.
Up next was Peninsula College’s own Dance Team president and it’s choreographer, Jacob Kennedy and Mya DeLano. The two showed off dance skills with an original piece about falling off ocean waves and, even though you might feel alone sometimes, you realize you never truly are. The duo definitely have some major chemistry as they were awarded an honorable mention.
Sky and An performed as a solo vocal and solo guitarist. Sky made his debut performance singing the song “Never Say Never” by The Fray with An accompanying him on the guitar.
Recent Sequim High School graduate, Katie Rogers, captivated the audience with her beautiful rendition of “Bang Bang” by Nancy Sinatra. Rogers showed off her unique voice as Marcus DeLano made an appearance on the piano.
Yohana Jacobs, Marisa DeLano and Dmitriy Karpuk performed “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard. DeLano opened with explaining the song’s meaning of making your own choices and taking whatever boat you’re on and pointing it in the direction you choose for yourself. This trio definitely pointed their boat in the right direction as they took home the first place prize.
House lights dimmed as Samuel Heyarty took the stage for his flow wand routine. Heyarty put on a wondrous display of light and movement.
Nursing student, Lauren Piper, started off by getting the audience on their feet for a quick stretch. She then brought the roof down with her energetic rendition of “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers. Marcus DeLano made a surprise appearance with a spontaneous dance on stage behind Lauren. He stood by waiting for just the right moment before jumping on stage. “The dancing thing was not planned. I heard the invite from her for anyone to come up and dance with her, so I took her invitation! It was such a cool song and she nailed it,” said DeLano.
Mike Drake was up next with a brand new hit. He had just finished the rap a few days prior but was eager to share his new piece with the audience.
With a little help from Yohana Jacobs, Bonnie Sires finished the night with a soulful version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley. Even when battling a cold, Sires definitely did The King proud.