Not many students can say they went through grade school without attending the infamous talent show. Whether they participated in the event and showed off their hidden talents or they cheered their friends on from the crowd, talent shows are the most familiar way students know to show off their talent in front of an audience.
On February 9, the 5UP Talent Show surprised the audience with the amount of hidden talent from undiscovered Ohio Northern University students.
The event took place in the 5 University Parkway dorms (5UP), which is a freshman women’s residence hall. The stage was set-up in the front of the residence hall and guests gathered in the lounge to watch their friends perform in the talent show. The show was comprised of many acts, including magic, singing, and Irish dancing. Not only were there impressive performances, but there were also three judges to determine first, second and third place.
Taylor Fleischman, a resident assistant of 5Up and director of the talent show, talked about what she hoped the audience took from the talent show and talent of the performers.
Considering 5UP is being closed down next year, Taylor thought 5UP would be the perfect location for students to come and experience if they haven’t before. Being that 5UP is a smaller location, audience members experienced a close-knit, coffee-shop themed and community-oriented talent show.
After watching the wide variety of acts, the judges evaluated the performances and awards were given to the winners. In third place, was Collin Kemner, freshman electrical engineering major. Before performing,
Collin announced that the 5UP Talent Show was his first time performing on stage. His act consisted of a one-man band. Collin played the drums, electric guitar and belted his song on the microphone all at once to impress the audience.
In second place, was Ann Zaibek. Ann is a freshman pharmacy major who performed a challenging Irish dancing routine for the audience. Lastly, in first place, was Connor Osterloh who performed the four stages of magic. The act gave a brief demonstration of stage magic, close-up magic, sleight of hand magic and minimalism. The act kept the audience on their toes and took home the first place title.
Connor Osterloh, freshman mechanical engineering major and winner of the 5UP Talent Show, expresses what performing magic means to him.
With hard work and dedication, the talent show was a success. There were 54 people in the audience and a total of 10 acts. The event was well-attended and appreciated by the audience. Even though the location was small, the audience members got to know each other and were eventually singing along with the acts by the end of the performance.