Behind the Scenes at Coffee House

Trey+Peters+%28L%29+and+Gulet+Isse+%28R%29+had+audience+members+in+stitches+with+their+playful+banter.%0A%28Photo+courtesy+of+Mrs.+Napoliello%29

Trey Peters (L) and Gulet Isse (R) had audience members in stitches with their playful banter. (Photo courtesy of Mrs. Napoliello)

Ryan Clary, Staff Writer

The annual Coffee House performance show was held in the Little Theatre on Friday, November 20, and it was a great experience for all of the audience and the performers as they were stars on the stage. The show included singing, piano playing, rapping, and poem reading.  It had free food that had everyone jumping out of their seats. There were many kinds of cake, as well as pumpkin pie, hot chocolate, and coffee. You could sit there, drink and eat, and have a great time.

Creating this special event was no easy task.  Immediately after school, students and teachers involved with organizing Coffee House got down to the business of setting up the equipment.  The seats and tables that were placed in the Little Theatre were had to be arranged in a way so the audience wouldn’t have to turn their heads to see the stage.  Tables were decorated with table cloths, and a lantern in the middle to help set the mood.  As the décor was put into place, overhead the house lights were focused and adjusted, and also had colored filters installed, to make sure the performers would look good on the stage.

Around 5 o’clock, the performers began to arrive for sound check.  Also preparing for the night were Gulet Isse (11) and Trey Peters (12), the two emcees of the show.  Gulet and Trey worked on refining their jokes as the performers they would be introducing ran through their acts one last time.  Finishing touches included the placement of microphones for the performers and the hosts to use. They also had a rug where a stool was placed for the performers to sit if needed.  As the preparations were being completed around 6:30, family, friends, and members of the FCHS community began to arrive.

The doors opened just before 7, when the show began.  With the little theater being dark, it set a calm and relaxing environment for Gulet and Trey to start their hosting duties.  They had some lines that really had the crowd laughing hard right from the beginning!  Some of their jokes involved planned skits, which were great.  They were also informational about each of the 12 acts that went on during the show.

As someone who helped with the preparations for the event, I can say the experience was a great one.  I had free food, I was with friends, and I was very intrigued with all the acts that performed at Coffee House.  It was easy to tell that the performers had a great time as well!

The show was a complete success for Falls Church High School.  All the volunteers, performers, and the audience played a huge role to make the Coffee House a big success.  The proceeds from the ticket sales for Coffee House will be going to the Journalism class here at Falls Church to fund the cost of printing this newspaper.  The entire staff of the Jagwire appreciates the support of those who attended, but even more than that, the Jagwire congratulates the performers for doing such a wonderful job.  What an overall great night for everyone!