– Kaycee Beilman
The writer is enrolled in Comm 240 News Reporting.
Six acts competed in the Fort Hays State University Talent Show, hosted by the Black Student Union on March 5 in the Beach-Schmidt Peforming Arts Center.
Taking first were “The McCluskey’s,” a brother and sister singing duo, featuring freshman Patrick McCluskey and junior Marcella McCluskey from Great Bend. Involved in church, and having their dad as a guitarist, the two said they have always been involved with music.
With their parents considering them to be “the bees knees,” The McCluskey’s said they began performing at a young age when their parents forced them to sing while dining at restaurants. While they don’t do this any longer, they still enjoy performing, they said.
They joked that they thought about bursting out on stage rapping a Drake song. Instead they choose to perform “Say Something” by a Great Big World. The duo’s harmonizing earned them the first-place crown.
Already thinking about next year’s talent show, The McCluskey’s said that they are actually thinking about competing against one another. When asked who will be crowned the winner of the two, Patrick McCluskey said, without hesitation, “I probably will.”
Marcella McCluskey responded by saying, “We’ll probably tie and have to do a sing off.”
The second-place finisher, junior Lauren Groth from Dodge City, said she began singing when she was accidentally enrolled in choir her freshman year of high school. Deciding that she actually loved the class, she said she realized that she had a real passion for music.
“Sharing my voice with people is something I’m very passionate about,” Groth said.
With the encouragement of friends, Groth took the talent show stage belting out “When You Were My Man,” which is a cover similar to “When I was Your Man” by Bruno Mars.
Groth found herself competing against her friend Kaci Norman, Holcomb senior.
“I thought that there might be some tension due to the fact that we were competing against one another, but it was the complete opposite,” Groth said.
Norman, who took third, agreed, “It wasn’t even a competition; it was just us sharing ourselves with each other.”
Being the only contestant who didn’t perform a musical number, Norman chose to recite two original poems, “I Ache” and “Honestly, the Beetles.”
For Norman, it was her first time to ever perform in front of an audience. “I know that what I’m doing and what the other contestants are doing is so valuable, so why should I be nervous sharing that part of myself,” she said.
Initially publishing her poetry solely on the web, Norman said that she received such encouraging feedback from her readers and friends, that she was persuaded to enter the talent show.
While the stories of how these contestants began using their talents may differ, they all agreed that if one is considering showcasing his or talent, the individual should go for it.