Southmoreland show choir takes the stage at Kennywood

Kaelei Whitlatch

Hi, I'm Kaelei and I'm a senior at Southmoreland. I'm a member of National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Concert Band, Show Choir, Highlander Choir, Musical Arts, Music Theatre club, The Future is Mine, Random Acts of Kindness, and Journalism. I love to play clarinet, write, and perform on stage. I plan to attend Robert Morris University with a major in Communications.
Kaelei Whitlatch

kennywood-fright-night

On a cold, windy Saturday night in October,  the Southmoreland Show Choir was given the chance to perform as part of Kennywood’s Phantom Fright Nights in West Mifflin.

Led by choral teacher Mrs. Michele Zamperini, the choir started their day at 9:30 a.m. at the Southmoreland Stadium and traveled to Norwin Middle School.

Music rehearsal was from 11 until noon, and students were given a short refreshment break before returning to learn the choreography.

“Everyone there filled up the entire gym,” Mrs. Zamperini said. “It was crazy. I didn’t think we all would fit, but we did. There was about 300 of us there.”

Senior Lilly Fullem said she had a great experience.  

“I got (to Norwin Middle School) to rehearse around two o’clock since I had to take the ACTs in the morning,” Fullem said. “There we practiced the dances for the performance for three hours. It was exhausting, but it was a lot of fun.”

Show choir members learned dances to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show, and “Get On Your Feet” from the musical On Your Feet!

Shortly after learning the dances, students were given pizza and changed their clothes into their matching “Fright Night” t-shirts before driving off to Kennywood around 6 o’clock.

The show choir performed at 7:30 alongside Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Kiski, Mount Pleasant, and other southwestern Pennsylvanian show choirs from grades 7 through 12.

“Norwin’s show choir performed a number called ‘The Evolution of Dance’ before everyone went on,” Mrs. Zamperini said. “That was really cool to watch.”

Students performed at a small stage by the merry go round and KiddieLand.

“Actually, we didn’t perform on the actual stage. We filled up the grass area around it,” Mrs. Zamperini said. “We were very cramped.”

The merry go round during Fright Night. Photo: #1 Cochran's Blog.

The merry go round during Fright Night. Photo: #1 Cochran’s Blog.

Freshman Abby Whitlatch enjoyed performing, but she didn’t have as much fun as she thought she would due to the weather.

“It was really cold, so most of us had to wear a turtleneck or sweatshirt underneath our (show choir) shirts,” Whitlatch said. “It was fun, but we didn’t have enough space to show all the choreography we worked on for so long. It was very crowded and chilly.”

Mrs. Zamperini said it was cold outside as well, but she said that it was one of her better years as show choir instructor at the park.

“I’ve been doing this off and on for the past six years or so, and some years have been better than others,” Mrs. Zamperini said. “It started out okay because it rained during the day when we were inside, and then it stopped at night. It did cool off though, and we stayed there for a pretty long time.”

After performing, they got to ride rides such as the Exterminator and the Phantom’s Revenge.

“The lines there were ridiculous,” Fullem said. “Whether the ride was big or small, we waited in line for a long time. We waited in line for the Exterminator for an hour and a half.”

At Kennywood’s Phantom Fright Nights, there are actors walking around the park looking to frighten the public. Whitlatch was able to get pictures with some of the characters.

Abby Whitlatch and Kalianna Rager "selfie" with the actors.

Abby Whitlatch and Kalianna Rager “selfie” with the actors.

Whitlatch poses with a blood-covered figure.

“It was so funny, I got some selfies with clowns and other scary looking people,” she said. “They got selfies with three or four other people, so I figured I could get some myself. I wasn’t really scared.”

Fullem wasn’t scared of the actors either.

“I did jump a few times when they would bang on garbage cans,” she said. “But I wasn’t scared when they would just be walking around. I protected some of the freshmen when they would get scared, and they would cling onto me. It was nice to be a motherly figure.”

Overall, the experience was a great time for all of those involved.

“It was a great bonding experience to do this with my sister (freshman Charlotte),” Fullem said. “Being in show choir for four years has been so much fun. You only get opportunities like this (in high school) once and then you can never do them again.”

Whitlatch also had a good time. “It was a fun experience. I hope we do it next year too,” she said.

 

About Kaelei Whitlatch
Hi, I'm Kaelei and I'm a senior at Southmoreland. I'm a member of National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Concert Band, Show Choir, Highlander Choir, Musical Arts, Music Theatre club, The Future is Mine, Random Acts of Kindness, and Journalism. I love to play clarinet, write, and perform on stage. I plan to attend Robert Morris University with a major in Communications.

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