Tomorrow night, the student-led “Houghton’s Got Talent” show will premiere. According to the college calendar, the show will take place from 9-11 p.m. in Wesley Chapel. Travis Trotman ‘17 said he organized the event during his internship with the Campus Activities Board (CAB), “for my (communication) major”.
“I had to create two events throughout this internship. AC Taylor, my supervisor, and CAB are helping me run the talent show,” he said. According to Trotman, the show will be “almost like Spot but without a theme.” There will be judges and prizes, with a variety of acts including “some singing, some dancing, [and] some standup comedy.” Trotman even teased the possibility of a few duo and group acts, and praised participants’ originality. “Usually in SPOT you see mostly singing and videos. There are no videos. This is a talent show.”
Trotman has recruited Zina Teague ‘12, Hunter Gregory ‘17, Sarah Duttweiler ‘17 and Dean Michael Jordan as judges. Trotman will host the show, and Joe Miner ‘18 and Andrew Sherman ‘18 will serve as “the hype people.” The judges will select their favorite performer to receive a prize. “By the end of the night, there will be a winner,” Trotman said. “There will be some acts and talent you wouldn’t have seen in Spot for a while,” he stated.
Soliciting performers for an event so late in the semester did prove difficult. Trotman originally advertised with posters and an all-campus email, but received only three entries. After asking friends for performer nominations, however, he was able to connect with many more talented performers and hold a preliminary audition.
Trotman is keeping the name of participants confidential, “so it’s for the most part a surprise for the campus.” However, he revealed that the participation pool contains a mix of under- and upperclassmen. “There are a lot of freshman and sophomores,” Trotman said. “After this, people will really know the talent we have.” Until the end of the night, the prizes will remain confidential as well.
Trotman hopes that “Houghton’s Got Talent” may become an annual event. In past years, a similar event called “Houghton Superstar” was popular, and he hopes to breathe new life into that tradition. “I hope to pass on the torch to someone who attends the show,” he stated. “I hope someone else from CAB will pick it up and it will become an annual thing.”
When asked what he was most looking forward to, Trotman said that he was excited “for crowd interaction and reaction to people performing. But I’m also just excited for the judges and how they’re going to interact with the performers, and also pick a winner.” Other students are also looking forward to the new event. “It’s going to be a great show!” Joe Miner ‘18 said. “CAB has put a lot of work into this event and I think it will be a huge success. If you’re looking for a laugh, a cry, or to have your breath taken away, come to Houghton’s Got Talent.”