GRCHS Unseen Talent Doesn't Go Unseen

By Jana Hoglund

Grand Rapids Christian High School Theatre Director Rick Hardenberg has many talents, and one of the most useful ones as of late is his ability to think outside of the box and innovate. As he did when coming up with the concept for Unseen Talent, a talent competition like none before. 

You could compare it to the hit television shows like The Masked Singer, The Voice, or even American Idol, but really there is no comparison; it is one of a kind.

When coming up with the concept of Unseen Talent, Mr. Hardenberg tried to think of ways to continue to engage and challenge students while still providing them with high-quality performance opportunities.

"All my students know that I have a book that I write down my ideas in the middle of the night. I'll wake up in the middle of the night, and I'll have an idea for a song for a show that we're working on or whatever. And this actually did just happen to come to me in the middle of the night! The school has been really good about trying to find ways to engage our students. We have an obligation to them and to their families. We have an obligation to look out for them and provide for them mentally, physically, spiritually, and academically and just help them get through this. And I wanted something that the kids would be excited about and something that was outside of the box and give them a new venture during this time of COVID."

Thirty-two students auditioned for Unseen Talent, vying for the 12 spots to compete for audience votes. Students auditioned live via Zoom for a panel of three judges but remained unseen with their cameras turned off. The judges included local music director and vocal coach Wright McCargar, local performer Annie Beals, and professional actor Brian Martin, a former Grand Rapids resident set to make his Broadway debut in Mrs. Doubtfire upon the reopening of theaters in New York.

Performing anonymously and without some of the stresses or anxieties associated with performing live in front of an audience, one of Mr. Hardenberg's goals was to entice students to audition who might not otherwise seek the spotlight. Or allow students who otherwise cannot commit to the entire run of rehearsals and performance to participate. 

Senior performer Sam Patton added, "I thought it was sweet because it would let people get out of their comfort zones — if they have any stage fright or anything, they wouldn't really have to worry about that. The auditioning experience was over Zoom. It was nice since you weren't in person you could just be in your own home and could just feel like you could show what you've got."

After the initial auditions, the performers were whittled down to the top 12. The students then worked one-on-one with vocal coach and musical director Wright McCargar on song selection and arrangements. Mr. McCargar gave the singers feedback and direction. They worked on dynamics, and he then wrote musical charts for the band based on the individual performers. 

Finally, the week before the live performances, the students came in and recorded three of their songs with the full professional band. This is where things got tricky! To keep the anonymity of the student performers, Mr. Hardenberg had to schedule these recording sessions at different times with enough space between each singer and instruct the students to use separate entrances and exits so as not to bump into each other in the hallways. Even though this process was a bit of a logistical nightmare, Mr. Hardenberg was adamant that all of the performers remain anonymous, even amongst each other. Students even had to sign a confidentiality agreement stating they would not disclose that they were participating in Unseen Talent — this meant keeping the secret even from their families!

"Whenever I would email the students or talk to them, I spoke several times to them utilizing the word integrity. Integrity for them as participants, but also the integrity of the project. That it's larger than just them singing, we wanted an event that would engage our entire community. And in order for that to happen, they had to remain anonymous. That really was part of the fun — keeping the secrecy."

The students chose songs to perform based on different themes — Pop Songs, Contemporary Christian, and Songs from the '70s and '80s. For the finale, they were able to pick a song of their choosing. During the first three nights of competition, the performers had to watch along live to find out if they would move on to the next round. Patton said, "It was definitely nerve-wracking because we didn't know if we made it to the next round until the audience did!" 

Over a thousand people tuned in to watch over the course of the four nights of performances, and close to 650 votes were cast. In the end, junior student Daniel Doyle was crowned the winner, and night grader Anna Ydenberg came in as runner-up.

11th grader Daniel Doyle (right) was the winner of Unseen Talent,
and 9th grader Anna Ydenberg (left) was the runner-up.

But it wasn't just about who walked away the winner. There were deeper lessons to be learned as well. Mr. Hardenberg offered, "It's interesting because one of the things that I always brought up was yes, you're being judged because people are voting for you, but, even when you're doing a theatrical production, you're still being judged. The applause is the audience saying, 'Thank you so much for your work and your dedication.' And it's the same thing as that. You're an artist. You are always going to be judged. People are going to like your work, and people aren't. I think that that was important for them to realize. In the outside world, we're going to be judged on our ability and judged on our dedication and work every day." 

Patton added, "This was a different and really neat experience; I haven't heard of any other school doing something like this. Overall, I thought it was a great experience."

The students also relished the opportunity to work with a real live professional band. Mr. Hardneberg continued, "During the whole process, we kept hearing, 'Oh my gosh, I never thought I would sing with a band like that!' So that alone, working with professional musicians and watching how fast the musicians could pick up charts and listen and follow the vocalist was really amazing for them. It was never the vocalist following the band. When you're working with that caliber of musician, it's really nice because as a performer, you get to dictate the song, you get to perform the song, and they are there to assist you."

Unseen Talent was indeed a collaborative endeavor and no small undertaking. There were musicians, performers, and Mr. Hardenberg and folks working behind the scenes like Chris Cook, the Technical Director for the Center for Arts and Worship. Mr. Cook oversaw the stage set-up, video, audio recording, and editing, and set up live streaming capabilities. Student assistants also contributed to technical aspects like camera operation (Zach VanderHorn), lighting (Stella BooydeGraaf), sound mixing (Ian Bakker), stage management (Annika Bakker), and video assistance (Jenna DeVries). It was a huge undertaking, and it paid off.

What started as a unique opportunity for students to perform ended up as a family affair. "I had several people that would email me or stop me when they'd see me in D&W or wherever and say, 'Hey, we're really enjoying it! It's something that our whole family is watching together, and it's fun!' They would throw it up on the TV at home, and they would all have their little notepads out, and they're writing down their notes for voting — the whole thing kind of hit home. We truly wanted an event that would engage our community and give them something to look forward to," Mr. Hardenberg said.

Hardenberg continued, "I think that the community at large really enjoyed it — everything we're hearing is how much they enjoyed it and how it was actually really entertaining for them. And, I think maybe, they were a little shocked by that — that just looking at the lit-up curtain without seeing the actual performer could be so entertaining. And I think knowing that somebody is taking a risk singing behind that curtain — and the sense of vulnerability and courage that it takes to put themselves out there — that really added to the value of it."

So, the question we all want to know: Will there be a season two of Unseen Talent? Mr. Hardenberg isn't one-hundred percent sure but hopes that there will be more Unseen Talent in the future. "It was definitely something we thought of and arranged to get us through this COVID time. However, I have received several emails saying, 'Oh, we hope you bring this back!' So, I don't know; maybe this will expand into something. One of the things we thought about is that when we can all be together again, doing it as a one-night event live in the CAW — where people will still be able to vote right from their seats, utilizing their smartphones. Maybe we would do it as a fundraiser for the GRCHS Stage Company — so that is a possibility."

All of the performers of Unseen Talent 2021.

Unseen Talent performers (in alphabetical order by last name):

Ella Anderson, 9th grade
Lizzie Caldon, 11th grade
Daniel Doyle, 11th grade — Winner
Meredith Ivory, 10th grade
Jena Momeyer, 11th grade 
Gabi Mora, 10th grade
Sam Patton, 12th grade
Grace Poortenga, 12th grade
Xander Scofield, 10th grade
Zoe Wise, 9th grade
Emma Winks, 12th grade
Anna Ydenberg, 9th grade — Runner-Up

Thank you to everyone who made Unseen Talent possible, and a big thanks to everyone who watched and voted. You can rewatch all the performances online at www.grcs.org/unseentalent.