Honors College students are getting a chance to show off their lesser-known skills on Friday in the first annual Honors Talent Show. 

Beginning at 6 p.m., the show is free of charge and is being held in Gallagher Theater, and students from a variety of majors and with an array of talents will be performing for their peers. There are approximately 15 acts that feature everything from singers to musicians to spoken word poets, providing plenty of variety to the show. The performance aspect is limited only to honors students, but the show is open to everyone.

This showcase of various talents brings light to creativity and subverts the notion that some people may have that honors students are primarily skilled in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

The idea for a talent show was brought forth by Lysette Davis, the community director for Yuma Residence Hall.

“Lysette recognizes that honors students are talented people, but she also really wanted to do a program between the two honors dorms,” explained Regan Fitzgerald, a criminal justice junior. Fitzgerald is a resident assistant at Árbol de la Vida Residence Hall and is a member of the selections committee for the talent show. Fitzgerald and several other RAs from both honors dorms worked with Davis to set up the talent show. 

The planning process went very smoothly, according to Fitzgerald, who said the show was essentially ready to go after only a few meetings on logistics and organization. The behind-the-scenes crew was originally worried about a lack of people signing up but quickly received requests from a number of students about performing in the show. 

Fitzgerald and the rest of the organization team said they are hoping that the event is successful and becomes a tradition within the Honors College for years to come.

Another big part of the event is the unification aspect between the two honors dorms. Despite both being involved in the same college within the UA, due to their locations, the two dorms often seem worlds apart. While each dorm organizes events for its residents throughout the year, as all dorms across campus do, the two honors dorms are often unable to coordinate events.

“I hope this will improve our relationship with Yuma so we can at least have this annual program with them, if not something more,” Fitzgerald said.

To add another component to the show, there will also be a panel of judges evaluating the acts. Although there is no physical prize, because the event is an RA event, the performers will be competing for first place. 

While the show is a competition, it is mainly a night for students to show their peers the unique abilities that they don’t get to demonstrate on a daily basis and allow the audience to enjoy some cool talents and see what their friends can do.

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