On Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19, Madison College Performing Arts will be presenting its first ever Student Showcase, highlighting the talents of Madison College students in the per-forming arts. Performances will consist of dance, music, drama, and spoken word.

The participating students have been rehearsing their pieces since they were approved by a jury in mid-Oct.

Anna Kay Freudenberg, Spice Phongthiengtham, and Doug Shoemaker, are three of the performers in the show.

Freudenberg will be presenting a selection from the play “August in Anna,“ playing four characters in a single scene, what in forensics is known as a “character pop.” She first learned the piece for forensics in high school.

“I spent one year working on it, from October to April. I went to state with it made it in-to semifinals,” she said.

That was five years ago, but she still finds ways to keep forensics in her life.

“Now I actually coach forensics at (my old) high school,” she said. “So I get to go back there and help out.”

Freudenberg has been using this piece in competitions as a standard part of her reper-toire.

“It’s cute and weird and definitely has some plot twists,” she said.

Having this old standby works well for her in this case, because she wouldn’t have time to learn anything new, Freudenberg added.

Doug Shoemaker will be performing the jazz standard “Makin’ Whoopee” on trombone. He first started playing 11 years ago in middle school, when he was faced with the decision of joining marching band or choir.

“My dad already had a trombone, so I was like, ‘well I guess I’ll play trombone, then,’” he said. “Then I was really good at it, so it was like I guess I’ll just keep doing this then.”
Since then, music has been a big part of his life.

“I’ve been in a few different bands and done some solo stuff. I’ve been performing for about as long as I’ve been playing,” he said.

Shoemaker plays a few other instruments in addition to the trombone.

“I also play the ukulele,” he said. “I also play an instrument called the didgeridoo. I’m learning electric bass right now, too, which is a lot of fun. So I play a few things. I also play a tiny bit of piano.”
Shoemaker’s interest in music isn’t limited to just performing.

“I’m listening to music pretty much constantly,” he said. “I even have a tattoo of a bass clef.”

Phongthiengtham will be playing piano in the showcase. He said he got his start playing the piano when his parents bought a new house. The home came with a piano that was left behind by its former owner, who had it put in the home during construction and couldn’t figure out how to get it out.

“To be honest, piano is not the instrument I wanted to play,” Phongthiengtham said. “Actually, I wanted to play the violin. (But) I already had a piano in the house and I already (was learning) how to play it.”

He said there probably would have been another problem had he taken up the violin.

“If you’re a beginner playing violin, no one can stand to hear you playing. It has a very sharp voice, so that’s a problem,” Phongthiengtham said.

Instructor Robin Fanfara encouraged Phongthiengtham to participate in the showcase, but he wasn’t sure about it.

“At first, Robin asked me, but I hadn’t played for a few years, so I was kind of rusty,” he said. “When I started practice, after practice I felt better, so I was like, let’s do it.”

Phongthiengtham will be performing “Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish Marsh) by Mozart, and is looking forward to performing in a new country.

The evening will be hosted by two of the stars of the recent staged reading and upcom-ing full production of “The Grapes of Wrath,” JP Wynne and Cody Laper. The show will be ac-companied by catering from Madison College’s culinary arts program and take place in the Traux Campus Gateway.

The Performing Arts Department asks that people reserve seats for the evening by emailing [email protected].