The cafeteria at American High was transformed after lunch into the 10th annual Art Club “Coffeehouse,” an exposition of the American High students’ talents in the musical, visual and culinary arts. Coffeehouse has become an annual tradition at American High but it’s always a new event because, while the format has become well-known, the actual staging and performers are always a surprise.
Immediately following lunch, the Art Club students swarmed into the cafeteria with decorations, banners, musical instruments, audio equipment, food, signs, backdrops and more, turning it into “Coffeehouse: Space” for 2016. Stars, twinkling lights, alien heads and floating rockets set the stage for a wide variety of student performers, student artworks on the walls and delicious treats.
Students came in, got coffee and treats, and checked out student artwork as they made their way to their seats. As student MC, Malachi Wilson welcomed the sell-out crowd to their seats, the last audio check was finishing up. The lights were low, the space Coffeehouse logo backdrop sparkled and Malachi welcomed the first performer Brandon Garland to the stage. The diverse bill featured students performing indie, rap, dance, spoken word poetry, rock and pop.
The crowd enjoyed all of the performers, with large applause for many of the acts. The student performers had been selected to perform after a series of auditions, and the Art Club officers and members created all of the decorations and backdrops for weeks before the event. Art Teacher and Art Club sponsor Ron Laffin oversaw the production and Art teacher Kevin Murphy and some of his students also helped in creating some of the backdrops.
The Coffeehouse performers included Brandon Garland, Jahdimyr Desorme, Isaiah John, Michelle venta, Yanely Rodriguez, Jon Richardson, Jesus Triana, Alexandre Knudson, Gabriella Scott, Chritian Cabrera and Natalie Galvez. The Art Club Officers who directed the production were Kassandra Cuero, Gabriella Illan-Noble, Gloria Chyr, Daniel Ramos, Sherri Garro and Kyla Cooper.
Just before the final performer sang Assistant Principal Marieyola Baptiste said “This is fantastic, just fantastic!” Then student singer Natalie Galvez gave an incredible vocal performance to cap off Coffeehouse number 10 at American High.