Auditions for Saturday Night Jive were held last week and the week before with several of Keene State College’s talents being put to the test.
Senior and Safety Major Connor Turmelle said that Saturday Night Jive is an annual talent show hosted by the Social Activity Council (SAC).
The show’s purpose is making it possible for students to express their talents. Various acts include singing, musical instruments, comedy and magic.
“I’m the events coordinator for this event. I work alongside with the publicity chair to get advertising out and then I’m the one who kind of runs the show. I will find the MC when we go to our conference this weekend in Hartford, Connecticut,” Turmelle said.
He also added that he has been a part of this event since his first year at KSC. This is his second show as the events coordinator.
“I am the events coordinator for SAC as a whole and I work with my committee to bring events to campus. We are generally the ones who bring the hypnotist, the magician, concerts and if we wanted to do dances or something; that all comes from the committee. Basically any type of event is through me if it is through SAC,” Turmelle said.
According to Turmelle, Saturday Night Jive has been around for several years. It is ingrained in SAC’s organization and is in their constitution, which mandates that they have to run events including this one. If he had to estimate, he would say the event has been around for 14 years, give or take.
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As far as talent goes, Turmelle said, “This year they [the performers] have basically been mostly music backgrounds. I know tonight (November 4) we are going to have Keene State’s group Three Ways till Sunday, which is a comedy group. I know next week we have a comedy duo coming.”
He continued, “I think people associate S and J with more of musically inclined events. Although we do love the music, we have various posters out to prove it’s not only music talents. I am hoping some walk-ins to change it up in the next few days that will give us more variety.”
Though the show is not until next semester, Turmelle said he believes that the audience turn out will be pretty good. He said, “Last year we filled a good two-thirds or three-fourths of the room. For a kid that likes to have the room full, it was definitely full enough for me.”
Part of Turmelle’s team is one of his many judges Sophomore Education and communications major, Kayla Halde.Halde said this is her first year being a judge for Saturday Night Jive.
When judging talents Halde said, “We are basically looking for something that is different and unique. We are looking for talents that everyone in the audience will like.”
She also said that the guidelines when judging include whether or not the talent is enjoyable, if others will also enjoy the performance and if the talent is appropriate. The judges have yet to turn anyone away from being able to perform in the show.
Halde added that this is her first year being a judge for Saturday Night Jive.
After seeing many talents thus far, Halde explained, “There was a guy performing two nights ago who sang about a really bad accident he was in and he wrote his own song about it. It was really sad but also really cool.” She also added that this was her favorite talent so far.
One performer who completed his audition already include Sophomore and Geography major Tim Peterson.
Peterson said he auditioned and plans to perform playing the piano and singing. He said, “I have been doing this a really long time. Probably since around kindergarten I have been singing and playing the piano.”
He had also explained that he has participated in shows like Saturday Night Jive before. “I did some in high school. In high school I usually chose to play the guitar but a lot of people play the guitar and sing.”
He continued, “If I can play the guitar or the piano I choose piano because it is a little bit more original and I’m better at it. I also play handbells and I use to play baritone horn.”
This will be Peterson’s first year participating in Saturday Night Jive.
While anticipating the show, Peterson said he most looks forward to seeing the other talents that others bring. He said, “I expect to see a lot of other musicians but I would like to see what other talents come.”
He continued, “I have some friends also participating in the show. They are in the comedy group Three Ways till Sunday.”
Turmelle said that contestants participating can win cash prizes for first, second and third place up to 300 dollars.
Something he believes that is unique to this talent show specifically is that the audience votes. Audience members text in their votes to decide the winners, which makes them the ultimate judges.
Saturday Night Jive will be held on January 30, 2016, and will start at 8:00 p.m.
Emma Hamilton can be contacted at ehamilton@kscequinox.com
