Due to Covid-19 and weather issues, the WinterFest talent show has not been seen since the 2018-2019 school year. This year’s WinterFest cast and crew are hoping to bring the spectacle back with a bang.

  When and where is WinterFest? The show will be Friday, February 11th during block 2A. The schedule that day will be altered to fit the back-to-back performances. Half the school will attend the show at a time, coming into the main gym to watch. 

  What is WinterFest? This is a question that so many students at Millbrook are asking right now, and the emcees for this year’s show are here to give some context. Emcee Brianna Panou describes the WinterFest she remembers by saying, “What I saw when I was a freshman is really different from what we are doing this year… Before there was a central theme, and you had seniors who were emcees kind of do little lighthearted skits. But this year, we decided to have a real message and a story line to our skits. It will be like a real show.” This year’s senior class will be the only group of students at Millbrook to have seen the talent show, which really gives a clean slate for the performers to get creative. Emcee Nina Wilson states, “There are gonna be different singers, and we have an ASA group who are gonna do an African dance, and along with the dances our emcee skits are going to be really unique.” 

  What is the process like in choosing the emcees, and how do they work together? All five emcees are seniors who came to Theatre teacher Mr. Kotzian to audition for the role. Emcee Christian Bartney explained, “The process for this year was different, there were not a lot of people who auditioned… Everyone who auditioned actually got the role because our creativity was just so electric together, and Mr. K really saw that.” The group feels that they vibe really well together, and that chemistry will help create a fun environment on stage. Emcee Gia Bondi comments on the group’s charisma by stating, “I think we do have good chemistry because most of us knew each other already, were already friends or had classes together so it was not  hard on that front …  Also a lot of us have similar humor, so what one person thought was funny was usually reciprocated among the group.” Being up on stage with friends , instead of strangers, can really help ease the nerves. Emcee Aly Ignacio comments on these nerves by saying, “Since it’s my senior year I am so excited to be part of WinterFest in this aspect, and I get to work with my friends to hopefully make the students and teachers laugh. I’m a little nervous about the group dance we have, but I know it’s going to be a lot of fun. So I guess I would say I am ready and very excited, and only nervous because I care!” 

  WinterFest is a fun assembly where Millbrook students get to see the variety of talents offered by their fellow classmates and the hard work of the emcees to make this show one to remember.