While Rockvemberfest has traditionally been a lip-sync contest, on Nov. 4, students also sang, read poetry, played piano and did magic. Senior Arvind Krishnan, history teacher Bruce Baird and math teacher Elissa Thomas judged and commented at the end of each act. The top three winners of the show will be announced at morning meeting on Monday, Nov. 7.
After the talent acts, senior emcees Alexa Mathisen and Jaelan Trapp led the “Couples Game,” in which partners answer questions about their significant other for points. This year, in addition to one actual couple, two couples comprised of best friends and last year’s champs competed. Senior Emil Erickson and junior Lea Gorny were the couple; juniors Miles Edwards and Theo Kaufman, as well as history teacher Sue Nellis and Latin teacher Jane Batarseh, were the best friends; and seniors Adam Dean and Natalie Brown were last year’s winners.
Edwards and Kaufman won after several tie-breakers in which audience members offered tricky questions to stump the participants.
Senior Isabelle Leavy sings "House of Gold" while playing her ukelele. (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Senior Michelle Li performs "Fight Song." (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
English teacher Ron Bell seductively leans against a piano during his lip-sync of "Super Freak" with sophomore Luca Procida and senior Daniel Hernried. (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Senior Daniel Hernried throws his hands in the air after jumping on sophomore Luca Procida's back during their lip-sync of "Super Freak." (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Sophomore Luca Procida, English teacher Ron Bell and senior Daniel Hernried lip-sync "Super Freak." (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Contestants in the "Couples Game" wait for their next question. (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
After being asked " What is your partner's shoe size?" senior Natalie Brown guessed 11 men's. Senior Adam Dean then revealed that he wears 11-and-a-half men's. Senior emcees Jaelan Trapp and Alexa Mathisen decided to give the point to the couple. (Photo by Jacqueline Chao)
Junior Theo Kaufman shows his answer to the question "What is your partner's middle name?" Kaufman's middle name is Zell'; however his friend Miles Edwards spelled it incorrectly and lost the point. Nevertheless, Kaufman and Edwards went on to win the game. (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Freshman Clayton Townsend performs a magic trick for his student volunteers - sophomore Ted Zhou and seniors Christian Van Vleck and Shriya Nadgauda. Townsend had his volunteers each memorize three digits of a dollar bill's serial number and then burned the dollar in a pan. After extinguishing the flame, Townsend opened a bag of chips to reveal a dollar bill with the same serial number. (Photo by Jacqueline Chao)
Freshman Clayton Townsend wraps the dollar bill in a napkin before burning it in a pan in front of sophomore Ted Zhou and senior Christian Van Vleck. (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Sophomore Chardonnay Needler sings "House of the Rising Sun" while sophomore Gabi Alvarado both sings and accompanies Needler on the piano. (Photo by Jacqueline Chao)
Sophomores Yanele Ledesma and Bella Mathisen lip-sync to "Baby, It's Cold Outside." During the act, Ledesma put on layers of clothing as Mathisen tried to convince her to stay. (Photo by Jacqueline Chao)
Sophomore Bella Mathisen grabs sophomore Janele Ledesma's scarf during their lip-sync of "Baby, It's Cold Outside." (Photo by Benett Sackheim)
Sophomore Brandy Riziki recites "The African Child Will Dance," a poem by Natasha Muhoza. (Photo by Jacqueline Chao)
—By Sonja Hansen
