As I walked into the gymnasium where all the choirs were supposed to meet, even though I was in beginners’ choir, I immediately began to feel the sense of family. As I looked around, at the beautiful tables that were decorated, and the stage that was lit up with the brightest lights, my emotions began building up inside of me. As I continued to survey the room, I spotted the performers in a line, waiting to rehearse their solos. I could not imagine how nervous they must have felt, and as I approached them, they excitedly told me how they felt.

Performing in front of a large crowd of over 100 people can be terrifying, but also exhilarating. As performers start to perform yearly, they begin to feel more relaxed and know how to handle their emotions. Through Cabaret, a variety of families come to watch their children perform.  Performing in front of your family can be hard, the feeling of wanting to please them can make your nervous emotions ten times worse. Not only do you have to stress about your emotions during cabaret, but you also must think about the precise details of your performance. Junior Laila Garza said, “I chose the song Tattooed Heart by Ariana Grande because when I first heard the song, I immediately loved it because it reminded me of someone singing in one of those classy clubs in the 1900’s, and I wanted to sing it.” However, other students chose songs that are more on the emotional end. Junior Joy Solarin said, “I sang Rise Up by Andra Day because it makes me cry a lot and I love singing emotional songs.” So, although cabaret brings about a lot of nervous emotions, it also gives students a way to tune these emotions into their performance.

Cabaret also helps students become better artists and singers by preparing them to sing in front of a crowd and providing voice lessons. Freshman Jessie Han said, “We practice and practice, so the song that we sing becomes memory. I have stage fright, and the only way to get over stage fright is to keep on singing and keep on trying, so that’s what I do.” Han is a first-year member in choir, and first time Cabaret performer and still found a way to allow her emotions to subside and put on a performance.

Cabaret allowed students to put on a show, no matter how nervous or fearful they were. “Cabaret makes me really happy because I get to see my family come support me and have a good time, and that is what Cabaret should be about,” Garza said. “You might even realize that you have an eye for singing, that you never knew you had.”