The Lakeland Regional High School community were once again wowed with student and staff performances at the first Coffee House of the year. The Coffee House, which took place on Thursday, November 21, 2019, featured students and staff performing songs and poems. 

Audience members filled the Media Center and were welcomed and floored with Mr. Dave Bochkay, IT specialist, and his dystopian take on “Let It Go.” The show then moved into cover songs by talented students with performances ranging from acoustic numbers to acapella pieces to full band sets. 

Junior Jacob Eccher, junior David Vargas, sophomore Niall McGonagle, junior Zoe Reynolds, sophomore Gaby Kaniuk, and junior Jake Fiorello were one of those full sets, performing “Stand By Me” by Bennie King. Senior Evan Carus followed shortly after with an original song titled “New Beginning.”

Who could forget Mr. Andrew Truong and Mr. Sean Kecherson, who both work on the All School production, and their duet featuring songs from Hamilton and Dear Evan Hanson, and Mr. Kelly’s rendition of “Cry to Me” by Solomon Burke which appeared in the movie Dirty Dancing?

Among many other talented acts, performances continued with a ukulele number from junior Emily Rose; a cover of “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves done by senior Frankie Scarnaty; and a rock number featuring the song “Animal” by Sir Chloe performed by junior Madison Naddeo, junior Kadin Hodgman, and senior Tess Martini.

It wasn’t all song, junior Paige Dammers performed an original poem she wrote, called Insomnia.

For the past three years, Assistant Superintendent Mr. Michael Novak, has been hosting Lakeland Regional High School’s famous Coffee Houses, which were co-founded by science teacher, Mr. Michael Kelly and English teacher, Mr. Eric White. Students were curious about the innovative minds behind the Coffee Houses, so The Lancer Ledger went and interviewed the three men to find out what drives their passion. 

It all starts with Mr. Kelly, who used to perform back in high school, and who currently plays the guitar, piano, writes original songs, and sings. Besides his passion for music and performance, Mr. Kelly said that he created the Coffee House because he “wants kids to have a creative outlet to perform without having to necessarily be a part of one of the more formal outlets like band or big competitions.” He believes that the casual atmosphere of the Coffee House encourages people to perform, and it grants them the opportunity to do something outside of their comfort zone with no backlash for doing so. He said, “The audience chose to go there because they want to go and support them. It’s a very relaxed, non-judging atmosphere.” 

Mr. White felt the same way as Mr. Kelly. He said, “The Coffee House was created to specifically fill a niche that we saw was missing at Lakeland, and that niche was the informal performance. Students need a space where they can release their creative energies in a low-stress environment.” In addition to that, the English teacher side of Mr. White also had a passion for the idea of the Coffee House, because he feels that  “the arts are a vital and necessary component to life… at the Coffee House, students get to live this truth outside of the classroom.”

The Lancer Ledger also asked Mr. White why he reads poetry at the Coffee House, which is one of many performances that are allowed at the event. He responded, saying, “I read poetry at the Coffee House because there are so many poems that need to be heard. Our English curriculum is wonderful, but not all encompassing, nor can it be. The Coffee House is a wonderful venue to share voices that wouldn’t otherwise be heard.”

Mr White is one of the few poets who perform at the Coffee Houses, as a majority of the performances are songs. As a poetry performer, Mr. White gave his advice on students who want to read poetry at the Coffee House but have not yet worked up the courage to do so. He said, “I would advise anyone who is interested in reading poetry at the Coffee House to put one’s fear aside– one has to, otherwise it controls one’s life. The options one has are simply– one can be afraid and harness the awesome energies inherent in the experience of reading/reciting a poem aloud, or one can be afraid and allow the fear to deny one the experience. Don’t let fear deny the experience!”

Mr. Novak acts as the host of the Coffee Houses, introducing each performer and stalling time with his classic sense of humor while everyone gets ready. When asked how he felt about the Coffee House, Mr. Novak responded, saying, “Mr. Kelly and Mr. White have been incredible in helping to create a platform for our students to showcase their talents. The development, organization, and implementation have been on them and Mr. Kel Pilshaw.  I am just happy to be a small part of it. It really is an incredible testament to our school and our student community to be a part of such a wonderful event.”

All three men made sure to give credit to Mr. Kel Pilshaw, an IT Specialist here at LRHS, who sets everything up for the Coffee House, from the lights to the microphones. Without him, the Coffee House wouldn’t be possible.

The Coffee House is held twice a year, with one in the fall and one in the spring. It welcomes, singers, poets, dancers, comedians, and musicians of all kinds. The sign-up is a Google Form that’s easily accessible on Mr. Kelly’s  or Mr. White’s faculty page, and it takes less than a minute to fill out. Submissions are acceptable up to the day of the Coffee House, as Mr. Kelly and Mr. White understand that teenagers tend to procrastinate, and they want students who waited until the last minute to be able to perform as well. So, make sure to sign up, as the Coffee House thrives on student involvement. 

As Mr. Kelly said, the idea isn’t too load it up with staff members performing but to get the students involved and spread school spirit. The next Coffee House will be sometime in the spring.