This past weekend, NHS show choirs Vintage and Act II competed at Fort Atkinson High School with the hopes of winning the first place trophies in their divisions.

On Friday, Feb. 10 at 3:30 p.m., students of both show choirs lugged suitcases, garment bags, and various instruments into the bottoms of three coach buses. Soon enough, students were packed into a seat and on their way to Fort Atkinson, Wis. The city is about two hours south of Neenah and relatively close to Madison.

Of course, there was some time to kill, for the competition was not until the next day. At about 6 p.m., the procession of buses dumped the students off at the East Towne Mall in Madison. For two hours, boys and girls in striped red polos and matching blue and gray t-shirts ran around stores and ate at the food court. Soon enough the students, now dragging Rue 21 and Barnes and Nobles bags behind them, piled onto the buses again and were back on their way.

Act II and Vintage reached their separate hotels later that night. Some swam in the pools, played games with friends, chatted with their roommates and got ready for the next day. Saturday was going to be long and stressful.

Act II was set to perform first, at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. Act II’s morning was hectic; girls ran around in high heels and blue dresses, their curls bouncing despite the gallons of hairspray. All packed up their things, loaded them on the buses, and headed off to the high school. There, they set up their rooms, and guys sat by and watched as girls painted their faces and glued on fake eyelashes. Soon enough, Act II was performing, while upperclassmen in their classic Waldo shirts screamed and cheered in front of the stage.

Fort Atkinson’s floors are infamous for being slippery; so much so that Mountain Dew is actually sprayed onto the stage before performers go up. Despite this, Act II had a few stumbles (and a few faceplants). Many teams, however, had this issue. Cheryl White, director of Act II, claimed that their performance was the best one yet, and each member of Act II was beaming with pride.

Later in the day, it was Vintage’s turn to perform. Their performance was outstanding as well; the screams of excitement from the Waldo supporters offered proof. Realistically, it would be a while until both show choirs found out what the judges thought of their performances.

Two other aspects of the competition were the solo and duet portions, which were held in a different area of the school. Groups of one or two singers in each school, including Neenah, sang in front of judges with a chance of winning best soloist or duet. Only seniors are allowed to compete in this category. Neenah soloists included Jack Murphy, Ashlynn Numrich, Liz Macnamee, and Wil Bridenhagen. Neenah had only one duet, made up of Jack Murphy and Adia Kollel.

After a long day, everyone had been seen and heard. At 6 p.m., singers, dancers, and band members of about 26 different groups gathered in the gymnasium of Fort Atkinson High School to hear the results. Every team was first rewarded with a participation award; then it was time for the true results. Teammates clutched hands and crossed their fingers, hoping to hear their group names called. First to be announced were the best solos and duets.

The announcer began with male soloist. The only words that could be heard were, “From Neenah High School…” before the rest of the sentence was drowned out by screams from members of Act II and Vintage. Senior Jack Murphy came up to the stage to accept his award, and the cheers continued.

Next were the awards for the Preparatory Division. This class contains less advanced show choirs, including Act II. Act II placed as First Runner Up (2nd place) behind the group from Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa called Focal Point. This team included juniors and seniors, unlike Act II. Despite the fact that Act II were not Grand Champions and would not perform again, as was customary for the winner of the Prep Division, they were extremely proud.

The six finalists were announced next. The advanced show choirs, like Vintage, had the chance of competing for a second time in the hopes of impressing the judges once again and taking home the first place trophy.

Vintage made it into finals, drawing cheers from the Neenah High School crowd once again. It was later announced that they would be performing fourth. Meanwhile, the winning solos and duets and the Grand Champions of the Prep Division would perform once again while the finalists got ready for a second run through their shows. Jack Murphy sang his solo in front of the large crowd, and soon enough the finalists were performing.

As they had earlier, Vintage put on an outstanding show. Members of both Vintage and Act II anticipated the upcoming awards ceremony.

The rest of the finalists performed, and the remaining school supporters and show choirs were once again gathered within the gymnasium. Vintage placed 4th among the six finalists. According to Vintage singer and dancer Ashlynn Numrich, senior, the group was proud of how they had done. “We were happy with [4th place]!” Numrich said. “At the end of the day, it isn’t about the place we got, it’s if we personally as a group had a strong performance. All of us felt that we had a strong [first] performance and an even stronger final performance.”

Once awards were finished, the time was nearing 11 p.m. Members of both Act II and Vintage were struggling to stay awake, and a two-hour bus ride was still ahead. Garment bags and equipment were once again packed into the buses, and with dragging feet and drooping eyelids, Neenah’s singers, dancers, and band members plopped down onto their bus seats. Almost immediately, everyone was asleep.

The buses reached NHS at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning. Barely awake, members of both show choirs unpacked buses and headed home. Act II singer and dancer Lexi Novak, freshmen, recalled that she had been awake for 21 hours straight that day.

Reflecting on the day, NHS showcased  its talent at Fort Atkinson. Jack Murphy had won Best Male Soloist, Act II placed 2nd in the Prep Division, and Vintage won 4th place overall. Act II and Vintage now continue to rehearse with the hopes of winning their next competition at Brodhead.