It was a full-day Saturday. I was having some "front-end noise" from the ManVan so I got up early (7 AM Eastern/6AM body-clock) to find out what was wrong. It was something I could kind of live with (It would have to get worked on Monday) so I just let it rattle.
We walked around the University of Cincinnati Campus and neighborhood. We saw Collin's new place ad went down to where Eric will be living in the Fall. Amy and I went to the bookstore, Rana went with Eric to this dorm room and Jaron & Wes went to watch the UC spring football practice at the stadium.
We ate at "Big Al's" with Collin, then Eric went to get ready.
For Freshman Showcase, the class has to pick a theme, pick the songs, assign solos & groups, and choreograph the showcase (about an hour long performance.) They have to work on the flow and make it entertaining. It has to be like any other show in that it has to display them as a whole class or cast and not just a bunch of individual cabaret performers waiting for their solos. They take great pride in this and there is pressure from past showcases to be great. They talked about their showcase the very first day they arrived on campus.
It seems to be an exercise in the process of putting together a show. It causes students who have usually been, by far, the most talented person in their home town high school to suddenly work with 17 other people who are just as (if not far more) talented than they are. It is a gut-punch for some. This is a “safe” way to work through some of those issues.
It does showcase their 1st year’s growth especially when some of the class has not been cast in a show all year.
The Freshman Showcase counts as a class for credit and they work closely with the pianist and vocal-arranger. It gives him a chance to assess the students in a rehearsal situation without the risk of holding-up an actual show.
The Freshman Showcase gives the class all a place to work on their interpersonal skills (or how to tolerate other’s lack of interpersonal skills.)
The Theme was "Friended" and it was fantastic
Eric was fantastic (especially in the tap number "Brotherhood of Man."),
chris
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