Gallery | 3 Photos

Sidra Asif

Senior Kristen Fong sings and plays the guitar to “Vienna” by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. “I was less nervous than I thought I was going to be, but then I got on stage, and then I was like, ‘Okay, keep going, alright,’ and then I immediately forgot the lyrics in the middle of the song,” Fong said. “But I think my recovery was alright.”

Controlled in voice and theatrical in movement, senior Jamaal Walker belts out the chorus to “Someone Gets Hurt” from the “Mean Girls” musical, blowing away the audience. A few moments later, the audience roars and hoots with laughter at witty comedic banter from senior Jay Hernandez. Soon, the audience lets out a collective gasp as they question how junior Seif Abaskhairon pulled off a nearly impossible future-predicting magic trick. 

On the evening of Oct.1, drama student and senior Zara Shirwany hosted Portola High’s first-ever talent show, “Gleaming Purples.” Drama teacher Samantha Sanford organized the event, along with the assistance of a team of tech theater students. 

The show featured 19 performances and boasted a wide variety of student talents including singing, stand-up comedy, magic, K-pop dance and other unique acts. 

Senior Kristen Fong sang and played the guitar to “Vienna” by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. 

“It [“Vienna”] pretty much just means to slow down and stop trying to burn yourself out from trying to go for your dreams too quickly,” Fong said. “I think it’s nice to have a place where people can showcase their talents because, at least for me, I’ve never done singing or playing guitar in front of everyone. So I think it’s a cool way for people to show what they can do and have the whole stage for themselves.”

ASB pitched the idea of a talent show three years ago but were unable to follow through due to COVID-19 and a lack of performers until this school year, according to Sanford. 

Participants signed up at the beginning of September and had to get their performances approved by Sanford. After approval, the performers mainly rehearsed in their own time outside of school leading up to the talent show. 

“I was impressed by how well organized the whole show was and how smoothly it ran,” junior Gautam Deshmukh, who attended the event, said. “All of the performances were also really good considering that it was PHS’s first talent show. It was crazy to see so many talented people doing so many cool things.”

Although it is unconfirmed if there will be another talent show next school year, Sanford said she hopes to recruit performers in greater numbers and diversity for potential future shows.

“I think the true excitement was seeing students blossom on stage,” Sanford said. “We had a student do a cultural dance. We had students try stand-up or magic for the first time. And so those students took a risk and tried something new or put their necks out there when they’re not used to being showcased like that on campus. It’s always nice to see that empowering moment on stage.”