HomeNewsCoffee beans and oak trees: SOTC’s second annual coffeehouse opens to packed...
Standing O Theater Company guild members gather for the opening to the second Coffee House. Members consist of President Hayden Esbjorn, Vice President Owen Shatters, Secretly Grace Wagner, Treasurer Lia Ramirez, Webmaster Alyssa Nemenoff, and Historian Lucy McCambridge. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty
With the weather getting chillier and the Christmas lights starting to rise, Standing O Theater Company (SOTC) welcomed its second annual Coffeehouse on Nov. 21 at the local Oak and Bean in downtown Oswego.
SOTC president and OH senior Hayden Esbjorn said, “Back at the very beginning of the school year, I emailed the owner of Oak and Bean asking if she would be able to let us use [their space] for Coffeehouse again this year. As last year was our very first year doing it, and we were extremely successful.”
Coffeehouse is an event that consists of students who choose to perform a talent of their choice, mostly singing, with some like to spice it up with their musical or stand-up comedy acts. Below is a photo essay of these wonderful acts, alongside what they performed.
Being inspired by the hit musical Hamilton, OH freshman Adelina Chavarria gives an incredible opening to the Coffee House production. Chavarria performed ‘Maybe This Time’ from Cabaret. “I feel like that song shows my lower and higher range at the same time. I really like singing in both of those ranges and I felt like that was a suitable choice for me” said Chavarria. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42FiftyGuitar player and OH freshman George Street decided to perform a cover of a combination of ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica, ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes, and ‘Iron Man’ by Black Sabbath. Street said “The songs I chose, they’re songs that made me who I am. Music is a big factor in mine and other people’s lives.” Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42FiftyShe Loves Me is a romantic comedy musical and OH sophomore Brianna DeStefano gave a jaw dropping performance of ‘Vanilla Ice Cream.’ DeStefano said that she got into the performing arts because, “I grew up in the church choir at my church, but 6th grade is when I did my first musical and ever since then, I’ve really liked music.” Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.OH freshman Natalia Oliveros stated how her singing is what she wants to do with her future. While being anxious in front of crowds, Oliveros performs ‘Let You Break My Heart Again’ by Laufey flawlessly. “I love singing, and it’s what I want to carry on in my life. I think that this is the perfect way to put myself out there” said Oliveros. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.‘Starman’ by David Bowie became the unofficial theme song for superman due to a social media trend over the summer. OH freshman Blake Slodki confidently performed ‘Starman’ because, “I like performing and acting, and it made me really find my people.” Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.A duet featuring OH seniors Jay Blomquist and Vee Driscoll had them performing ‘Fable’ by Gigi Perez. Driscoll played the chorus on her own guitar and Blomquist sang the lyrics. “For me and my friend Jay, we really love Gigi Perez and all of her music and Fable. We just felt like it’s a song that we just felt was our song” said Driscoll when asked about the meaning behind their performance. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.One of a handful of duets, OH juniors Ashlyn Pulfer and Alyssa Nemenoff perform ‘We’re Gonna Find It’ from Barbie and the Diamond Castle, a musical theater song that is about friendship and being together when times are tough. “ just had a really big impact on me, and they would always really stick with me, and I was like ‘I want to do that,’ I want to have that same impact on other people” said Nemonoff. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.One of the groups that performed consisted of OH juniors Owen Shatters and Xavier Martinez and seniors Trenten Sandra and Cooper Van Kley. The group performed ‘Life Could be a Dream’ by The Chords. “The Shaboom song, AKA Life Could Be a Dream, is a pretty well-known song. So we figured that it would be a pretty good song, as this was our kickoff performance for the year. And, we thought it would be a fun song to just start the year off” said Martinez. Credit: Liam Piekarczyk, 42Fifty.
I love to read and write poetry, I'm a first year reporter in 11th grade. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
Howdy! My name is Liam Piekarczyk and I am a first year staff reporter and in my senior year of high school. I am involved in the school's cross country, swim and dive, and track and field team. I am also an editor for the 25/26 reflector yearbook staff. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback for our publication!
