Performers stand behind black curtains, ready to come out and perform. The crowd is quiet, and patiently waiting for each act. On March 25, 2022, the SGA held TJ’s Got Talent for Jefferson students to showcase their skills. 

“I’ve always wanted to do a talent show, so I pushed this idea forward. The SGA organized the event. This used to be a yearly plan, however, since quarantine happened, we haven’t had one for the past three years,” sophomore Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer said. 

Since the talent show used to be an annual event at Jefferson, they decided to bring it back this year. To execute this show properly, it takes planning, time, and effort. 

“It took a lot of planning. I personally started planning three months ago, however, we started planning as a group two months ago. We planned every single SGA block. March has been the main month we have been working on it because we had many more people on board,” Kudrati-Plummer said. 

After taking time out of their schedules, they felt that they made a sufficient plan of knowing how to carry out this show. People started signing up, hoping they would be able to have a spot in the talent show to perform their act. 

“We were accepting all acts unless someone had swear words, or if someone was doing something simply to clown the show. For example, if they were doing something to make fun of it, and not doing it for the talent. We were also reviewing all acts to make sure nobody was doing anything inappropriate. Aside from that, we were good with anyone coming,” Kudrati-Plummer said. 

In total, there were 21 acts that performed, and 28 participants. Some acts were performed with a group, others had a partner, however most were individual. With so many people in the show, the organizers were hoping everything would function smoothly. 

“We spent a lot of time on this, and I’m thinking it will turn out well. A lot of people showing up will be best, because it will be a fun experience and they will be entertained,” Kudrati-Plummer said. 

A lot of people ended up showing up. In between acts, the organizers would tell the audience jokes or play “Wordle” to keep them entertained. 

“I know some of the people in SGA, and I thought they did a good job of putting it all together in a relatively short period. There were some confusing things here, and there but thanks to the organizers being responsive on messenger, everything went smoothly,” senior participant AJ Seo said. “There were a good amount of people who came, which goes to show that the organizers advertised effectively”

The organizers had solutions in place for whenever something didn’t go as planned to ensure the show would run smoothly. Not only did the audience enjoy the show, but the people participating in the talent show also had a meaningful and memorable experience.

“The talent show was a fun experience. [Urban Dance Movement officers] started preparing for [our act] 1-2 weeks in advance, so we weren’t sure how it would turn out. Nevertheless, we are proud of the performance and are happy that the audience enjoyed watching it,” Seo said. 

According to Kudrati-Plummer, there have been requests for another talent show this year.

“The talent show has so far only been a yearly thing. We might have a karaoke night soon. However, we will leave the talent show as a big event once a year,” Kudrati-Plummer said. 

At the end of all the performances, a panel of judges voted on which acts were the best. The organizers wanted the audience’s voices to be heard as well, so they gave them a chance to vote for their favorite act too. 

“We didn’t expect to win both the audience popular vote and first place. We tied with Rick Yoon’s magic act, so that was a nice surprise,” Seo said. 

Despite this added layer of competition, the show was meant to encourage expressing your talents, and having fun. For most of the participants, it was one of the first times that they had ever taken part in a talent show. 

“I’ve never participated in a talent show before, probably because I didn’t feel like I had something that I could do. I certainly learned a lot simply from watching the other performances that night. There were a wide range of talents that other students showcased, from magic to the hand flute, which I was really impressed by. Seeing people I knew show something about themselves that I was not aware of was also interesting. Overall, I enjoyed them, and I think everyone did a great job,” Seo said.