By Reeham Choudhury

The lights were out, except for the spotlight centered on the floor of Dance Studio 1. All the seats were filled, forcing some to sit on on the floor. Although Friday the 13th is considered to be unlucky, those who were at A Cappella Fest this Friday night, were most certainly lucky.

The show started with one of the all-girl a cappella groups, Perfect Pitch, who spread their music throughout the studio. Wearing red and black, Perfect Pitch was the source of roaring applause and absolute silence during their performance. From Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again,” to Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love,” the group had an astounding performance.

Following Perfect Pitch, sophomore Nathaniel Bohrs entered the dance studio wearing a cape and his underwear over his pants, and dropped a CD. Members of Testostatones followed in yelling “he dropped a mixtape!,” all wearing the same outfit. The Testostatones maintained their sense of humor throughout their performance, such as when senior Dawaun Hardy threw the boxers he was wearing on his head into the crowd. The boys certainly enjoyed the spotlight, and impressed the audience with their humor and their voices.

Giving the audience a break from singing, the Improv troupe, Needs Improvment, came on to the floor. They selected a member of the audience and asked him of the events in his day, in which he responded, “I took a shower” and “I had two subs: Mr. Berman and Mr. Levine.” Needs Improvment used this information to create a comedic version of the audience member’s day.

In the following game, Needs Improvment seniors Sean McDonough and Finn McMillan were challenged to enact a scene about a pilot and co-pilot, with less and less time. They started with one minute, and made their way to making the scene only four seconds long. Although the scene was repeated, the shortening and difference of each rendering made the next scene just as comedic as the last.

Note-a-Fy, another all-girl a cappella group, began singing with their red and black outfits. The crowd remained on the edge of their seats as the group sang and danced their songs. The soloists clearly sang the melody, while the girls behind harmonized beautifully. The crowd clapped loudly as they completed each song, from “Plans” by Marika Hackman, to “Two Weeks” by Grizzly Bear.

Afterwards, Needs Improvment returned, and mentioned that they would play 7 Minutes in Heaven. In seven minutes, four actors who had recently died had to explain their deaths. As they asked the audience about where their deaths occurred, one person loudly yelled, “A Cappella Fest.” The audience roared with laughter. Needs Improvment enacted the roles of two girls, a British girl and Chorus Director Michael Driscoll. The audience’s laughter throughout the performance contrasted with the serious acting.

The show concluded with the A Cappella Choir singing four songs. Each one different from the last, the group kept the audience’s attention. Each soloist displayed immense vocal ability. Starting with “Seize the Day” by Alan Menken, and ending with “Somebody to Love” by Freddie Mercury, A Cappella Choir’s synchronized choreography and wide-range of voices ended the show with a bang.

Reeham Choudhury can be contacted at [email protected].