“When did I discover my talent? When I was born. I came out of my mom, and then I knew.” When it comes to Analy students, there is no shortage of talent, be it the comical and musical skit performed by Nic Casey and Elijah Pinkham or the triumph of Clovelly Young and Sophie Tiche’s Gotye against a plague of technical mishaps. Entirely student-run, the 2016 Analy Variety Show covered almost two dozen performances to support Chrysalis Community Counseling Services, a nonprofit counseling agency based in Santa Rosa.

In the case of Clovelly Young and Sophie Tiche, practicing lasted weeks but could not save them from nerves or the unfortunate timing of a weak cellular connection. After taking the stage, Clovelly and Sophie introduced themselves and their song, “Somebody I used to Know” by the indie artist Gotye, of which the pronunciation seemed a mystery. Just a minute after their song began, the music suddenly stopped and the young singers gasped in exasperation. Due to the eternally buffering of the background music, their song would resume twice more only to stop altogether, at which point Clovelly and Sophie sang on as the audience clapped the rhythm. As they charged on, fellow performer Nic Casey ran onstage and plugged in his guitar, finishing the song with a few improvised chords. “I thought it was amazing, it was really fun to do, and I was really excited about it,” said Clovelly Young, unfazed by their difficulties.

While some spent weeks practicing, Jade Wight and Jennifer Wheelock couldn’t decide on a song to perform until the hour before the show. For Jennifer and Jade, a duo often found on local stages during the weekend, practicing is easy when they like music. In the end, they settled on “Art isn’t Real” by Deer Tick, which they sang together while Jennifer played guitar and Jade the mandolin. When Mr. DelMonte, who arranged the variety show, stepped onto the stage, the audience may have been expecting him to sing, as he traditionally does. However, there was no lack of enthusiasm for what he decided to do instead. With math teacher Mr. Hays, Mr. DelMonte soon began juggling, to the surprise and amusement of onlookers. The audience’s merriment continued when suddenly the music changed and the two teachers began to “hit the quan.” Their lively medley and Jeremy Gleaves’ piano performance were the only acts in the show without vocals.

The variety show proved that Analy’s student body (and faculty) is filled with lots of talent. Mixed into the show were performances by Analy’s various choirs. At the end of the show, students in the audience and backstage poured onto stage and all of the choirs sang “Seasons of Love” together. It was a heartwarming ending to an impressive night of mixed talents.