On April 10, 2026, Theater Arts Teacher and Director Veronica Pulido put on a talent show during VAPA (Visual and Performance Arts) Week. While Pulido was in charge, she had junior Xitlali Solis and senior Bryan Puente help her run the show. 

Some of the main purposes of talent shows are for individuals to showcase skills and build their self-confidence. “The purpose was to hone in skills that are also alive on campus but may not get stage time,” she said. “[But most importantly,] I hoped to see the students cheer each other on.”

The show took place in the Mullins Theater during lunch. Admission was $1 and students had to use their tickets to vote for their favorite act. At a talent show, you’d expect various acts, such as magic tricks, cultural dances, shadow puppets, jokes, and singing. 

Some students hoped to see a crazy magic trick, and some hoped to see a funny show. “I’m hoping to see comedy, or something that makes me laugh,” senior Abel Piceno said. “I just came to keep my friend company, but I do hope to see something that can get a giggle out of me.” 

This year’s talent show was made up of three acts. The first act was junior Kyle Corpuz. He performed a singing and dancing show to the song “Viva Moldova” by Satoshi. 

Before performing, he said he felt scared because he thought the audience wasn’t going to get the vibe and like his performance. “But, you know, [when] it’s about to happen, it happens,” he said. “And once it happens, you can’t go back. So, you just go with [the flow].”

Corpuz’s show had students cheering for him. He said he felt good about his performance. “I was like, really happy, but also I was very tired,” he said. “I [also] just wanted to have fun.” When he was done performing, he bowed down to the crowd and the curtains closed. 

The second act was a band performance that consisted of four students: seniors Leonardo Mariscal, Armando Gutierrez, and twins Giovanni Siguenza and Arturo Siguenza. Giovanni was the band’s drummer, Leonardo and Arturo were the guitarists, and Armando was the singer. The band performed the song “Someday” by the Strokes. 

“We were a little nervous before [we performed],” Arturo Siguenza said. “After the performance, I had a moment where I was like, I did good, but there [is] always stuff I could work on to get better.”

Mariscal agreed with his friend’s statement. “We could have for sure practiced a little more [because] we messed up on a lot of the parts,” he said. “If we would’ve practiced like, one or two more times, we would have been better.” 

When they finished singing, the audience cheered and clapped much louder than the previous act. There were some students at the front of the theater who even stood up, applauded, and roared.

The third and last act was a singing duet. Sophomore Hazelynn Frei and junior Geneva Bañuelos sang the song “Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eilish. During the performance, some students in the audience decided to make it more “concert-theme” and light up their phone flashlights, put them up in the air, and move their hands side by side. 

The duet had great chemistry as they sang together. “I felt great and comfortable working and singing with her,” Frei said. “Overall, we did okay, we were nervous, and that showed during the performance, but we did great.” The audience seemed to have loved it, and students were joining in to sing the backup vocals. 

After the final act, the curtains closed. Pulido walked onto the stage and thanked everyone who had shown up to watch the talent show, and she gave instructions on how the voting was going to take place. 

The tickets that were given upon entry were going to be used to vote for the winners. When the students walked out the doors, there were three students standing outside, and each one was holding a big yellow envelope. Each envelope had a name written on it, and those were the names of the contestants. As the students passed by, they would place their ticket on the envelope containing the names of the participants they believe should win first place. 

When the students had left the theater, Pulido and her helpers counted each ticket in the three yellow envelopes. 

The winners of the talent show were The Losers. Frei and Bañuelos took second place, and Corpuz came in third. 

The prizes were custom trophies made by the woodshop, Artists Ink, and Pulido herself. “The trophies were all props from the theater that were recreated into trophies,” she said. 

Mariscal mentioned how he felt after winning first place. “It was pretty awesome,” he said. Siguenza agreed. “It felt pretty good that we got it in the bag to get 1st place,” he said.

Overall, she was very satisfied with how well the talent show went and how it met her expectations. “All the attendants were excited and were swaying to the music,” she said. “I liked the fact that they had to contribute to the winner. When I announced the winner to the students, some were cheering for others, all friendly, and that made it really cool to hear.”