While the show lasted a little over an hour, most people attending did not see the countless hours, weeks and even months of preparation that led up to Saturday’s Country Showcase.
Last Saturday, Belmont went full swing in displaying its Nashville roots with the fifth installment of the showcase series, Country Showcase.
Hosted in the Fisher Center for Performing Arts, around 800 audience members packed into the theater to watch students Ella Gibson, Gabriella Pasque, Emmy Moyen and Aniston Pate perform and compete for a spot at Best of the Best.
“It's genuinely going to be an incredible experience to watch it all happen,” said Nate Briggs, production manager of Belmont Showcase Series.
Briggs is one of nearly 100 members of the showcase staff who gives their time, energy and effort into making the event go seamlessly.
The process for each showcase starts 3-4 months in advance of the actual performance because of applications, auditions and the preparation process.
“First step is the general online application and depending on the genre we get from 20 to over 50 applications and then we whittle those down to a manageable number,” said junior Kristin Gross, president of event coordination. “Several council members discuss and give their opinions, and once we get down to the top eight, everything else is industry professionals.”
Gross oversees the marketing team as well as relations and hospitality. She works alongside the rest of the showcase series council to plan and execute each showcase performance.
The artists also receive live feedback at their audition and the judges will give feedback on how to improve their performance, said Gross.
“We like to say that the constructive criticism and advice we get from each show is the best gift we can give to artists,” said Gross.
Country showcase was a whole different kind of rodeo from any other one this year.
“We did our auditions at the end of last semester and we had a lot of work, especially on the production side of putting together schedules and other things and a lot of work had to be done over break,” said Gross. “Then the actual showcase is the third week of classes so we really haven't gotten back into the swing of things.”
This might not be an obstacle for people who work full-time for concert venues, but for students with a full schedule of classes and extracurriculars, it presents more of a challenge.
“I think the best part of the showcase is that everything is student-run from the way every role is student-run from stage hands all the way up to our president of production,” said senior Luke Johnson, technical director of venues.
Running a showcase takes a village.
With multiple subgroups of staff coordinating to make sure everything goes according to plan.
Even if that plan doesn’t account for the challenges of live production.
“There’s so many parts that have to get changed around because a lot of what video does interferes with what lighting is doing… Audio interferes with lightning. So the three teams are all working together to try and take our random pieces that don’t really fit together and make the puzzle out of it,” said Nick Carson, video coordinator.
Despite the intricacy of all the moving parts, the students still find a way to make the puzzle pieces fit.
“It can be pretty hectic back here but everyone is very focused. Everyone is very locked in on what they need to be doing, everyone knows their own place,” said Jonah Burch, president of production.
On the design side of a showcase, the production team works with the performers to create an aesthetic that aligns with each artist, and creates an overarching, cohesive theme for the show.
Lydia Drye held the role of producer for country showcase and was in charge of creating the appearance of the show.
“My vision for the show is to have a Robert’s Western World meets Grand Ole Opry vibe. And I think that it's really cool that we get to create our own version of that at this venue,” said Dyre.
Showcase has been hosted all over campus from the Curb Event Center to the Fisher Center and each venue has its pros and cons.
“The set's design depends on the venue, with the Fisher we have certain restrictions because we can’t change the shape of the stage, whereas in the Curb we have more flexibility with creating the shape,” said Gross.
In the end, Belmont students’ dedication and teamwork made the country showcase a successful display of both emerging talent and student-driven creativity.
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This article was written by Samanta Graessle