One of the things that Carolina Forest High School is known for is our multi-talented, growing Showcase. Showcase is a combined group of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors of different experience levels who rehearse two days a week for three or four hours for various shows and musicals.
On February 2-4, the CFHS Showcase performed in their 2024 Benefit Show. This mesmerizing, almost two-hour show featured the 37 showcase members in four different performance sets, including “Tarzan,” “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” and “In The Heights” with featured solos, duets, and acapella songs performed by various students throughout the night.
Members of the CFHS Showcase include Karla Asencio Paulino, Isaiah Barnes, Madison Beckles, Zowie Bennett, Cooper Bourque, Ireland Bridgeman, Casey Brooks, Christopher Carbone, Cora Collier, Justin Cox, D’Morri Davis, Eric Emond, Karleigh Floyd, Quintasia Graham, Bella Gross, Nickson Hamm, Charles Hawkins, Hailey Helmer, Ta’bais Hennigan, Riley Hinz, Chasia Horton, Attila Hunte, Noah Jeffords, Peyton Joy, Emilie Milone, Luis Morales-Hernandez, Caleb Morgan, Taylor Quinn, Royelle Rice, Ashanti Richmond, Jack Robertson, Victor Rodridgeus Viana, Shelby Ross, Khalub Sam Fong-Talia, Tori Weeks, Bryan Yanez and Trinity Yurcak-Farah.
This show is a fundraiser for Showcase so they can attend Orlando Fest, a musical festival competition hosted at Universal, Florida, every year for performing centers near the Orlando area with different classes and workshops.
This year’s benefit show was extraordinary! I had the privilege of seeing the show, and I was blown away with how talented these students are. There was so much music, choreography and costume changes that each person had to keep up with and learn to do in unison with their fellow performers. Some students, such as Cooper Bourque, Chasia Horton, Jack Robertson, Victor Rodridgeus and Khlaub Sam Fong- Talia, even joined for the first time this spring semester so they only had two or three weeks to learn this intricate show.
Freshman Bella Gross stated, “The hardest thing about being in showcase is the hours we put into our productions even outside of school. It can be hard to keep up with music, choreography and schoolwork, but it is definitely rewarding.”
Though these students have to balance school, Showcase, their social and family lives, their hard work pays off.
Isaiah Barnes, a junior, shared, “To me the most rewarding thing about being in showcase is being able to perform alongside a lot of my friends and also having the opportunity to not just perform here at the school, but in other places, too! “
Showcase takes up a lot of time, effort and skills, and they should be applauded for putting on such a great benefit show this year.We look forward to seeing what these students can continue to accomplish throughout the rest of this school year and wish them the best of luck at Orlando Fest in April!
