Photo by Lance Cpl. Jahn R. Kuiper From left, senior Michelle, and freshmen Clair and Jennifer perform Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah at the Quantico Middle High School’s annual talent show March 5.

The Masters of Ceremonies, senior Chloe, as Alice, and senior Trevor, as the Mad Hatter, were dressed in the theme of the night, which was ‘‘A Night in Wonderland.” They introduced 11 acts, which was comprised of teachers, middle and high school students.

‘‘We have a unusual age range because it’s both a high school and middle school,” said Sharon Adinolfi, the show’s director. ‘‘This is the only event we do as a school that all ages can participate in. The young students really feel special that they can do stuff with the older students. Also, it gives them an opportunity to put themselves out there and have a good time. It’s important that the acts are not judged because otherwise they might not want to do it.”

Nearly the whole school came to watch their friends.

‘‘I want to support the kids in the school and see what they can all do,” said Cody, a 9th grade spectator. ‘‘They’re going to befamous someday.”

Each performer chose to display their talent for different reasons.

‘‘This is my first time performing in front of a big audience,” said senior Michelle, who performed a guitar solo ‘‘The Light.” ‘‘I wanted to show what I can do, but right now I’m really nervous. This isn’t very easy.”

‘‘I wanted to help my friend out because she needed someone to sing with her,” said freshman Jennifer, who performed ‘‘Alleluia” with Michelle and freshman Clair. ‘‘We stayed after school and had a lot of fun helping each other to get the song down.”

‘‘We are enjoying playing music in our adult life,” said teacher Laurie Settle, whose teacher trio performed ‘‘Colors of the Wind” and ‘‘Green Dolphin Street” with a clarinet, piano and drums. ‘‘Also, it’s a good example for the kids. It shows that, even though we’ve grown up, it’s still part of who we are.”

Each act had their own idea for their performance.

‘‘I’m doing my own take on ‘Let It Be,’” Jennifer said. ‘‘It’s more soulful.”

‘‘I have no plan,” said seventh-grader Victor, who performed an improvised drum solo. ‘‘I’m just going to go out there and do my thing.”

After the show was over, everyone had different reactions.

‘‘It was very cool and very nerve racking,” said Michelle. ‘‘I screwed up my lyrics, buteveryone said I did well, so it feels good.”

‘‘I can tell she feels the words and that it means a lot to her,” said freshman Hannah about her friend Jennifer .

‘‘It was actually pretty good,” said junior Chase, a spectator. ‘‘We had a lot of good singers. A lot of people surprised me.”

But before the lights could turn on and the performers took their stage, hours of work went into preparation.

‘‘Even though the snow slowed us down, we had some great artists who made an amazing set,” Adinolfi said. ‘‘We’ve been working on the background and our papier-mache set pieces for the last six weeks, but we’ve been working intensely for the last two weeks.”

‘‘The kids of the drama program really had fun putting this together. If it’s not fun then what’s the point. That is what this show is all about.”

— Correspondent: jahn.kuiper@usmc.mil