Twice a year, the Fishers High School theater department hosts Coffeehouse, an open-mic style performance to display the talents of students, accompanied with the sale of coffee and pastries for visitors to enjoy. The performances range from slam poetry to vocal solos to even string quartets.

    Participation in the performance is earned by signing up for an audition with drama teacher Anna Nickell. The March Coffeehouse hosted 29 acts with 43 performers, setting a record for the number of participants. 

     Each act is around five minutes long, and when the artists are not performing, they sit onstage at a rustic table set and watch their peers. Another aspect of Coffeehouse is the featurettes, which are two or three thematically-grouped acts where the performer introduces and explains their piece before performing.

     Sophomore Daniel Hobart participated in the featurette titled “Coming From Broadway,” and performed a song by Stephen Sondheim while playing the piano. Hobart stressed the importance of standing out when choosing an act.

     “It [singing and playing the piano] has been done before, but it is not something you see the most often,” Hobart said. “Usually you see someone simply standing upstage with a mic and they sing a karaoke track.”

     In two and a half hours, the audience was able to experience multi-talented students, while the performers took their first step in exposing themselves to the world by sharing their art with others. 

     “It is very nice to push yourself to accept and showcase your art,” junior Daniel Huber said. “Because you get good feedback at the end of the day, and you should take that feedback with stride and improve your work.”

Gallery • 18 Photos

Photo By Emerson Elledge.

Sophomore Micah Derrer and senior Micah Evans destress in the orchestra room prior to the start of Coffeehouse. Coffeehouse took place on March 4.