On Friday, March 14, The High Street Arts Center gave Moorpark community members the opportunity to take center stage and exhibit their talents.
The annual talent showcase celebrated its 14th year with 12 acts and a packed 266-seat house of audience members. The show alternated between feats of talent and personal interviews hosted by long-time High Street performer Courtney Potter.
After the show, audience members were allowed to vote alongside the judges for who they believed should win the $500 grand prize. The prize was sponsored by the Moorpark Foundation for the Arts, whose mission is “to support and promote the growth and enjoyment of the performing arts and visual arts in Moorpark and surrounding areas.”
Jared Arroyo, former Moorpark College student and magician, emphasizes the importance of this mission.
“For many of us, we might feel as if we don’t have a space for the talents we have, and the world of performance is tough in general. This could end up being an incredible space for peer review, networking, as well as being a place where some could be comfortable showcasing a skill or talent that would have otherwise gone unnoticed,” Arroyo said. “It’s exciting because I personally know so many incredibly talented people from Moorpark who are not ready to fully commit to the world of performance, and maybe after seeing how positively people respond to their excellence in a setting like this could empower them to take steps towards the things that they dream of doing.”
This empowerment to share hidden talents was embraced by unique expertise and new performers. Not only was it singer Rigo Valerio’s first time performing on stage, but Allison Hawkins shared her new-found skills in songwriting. Hawkins explained that she had decided to branch out from her experience singing covers to share an original composition with the crowd.
Jump rope dancer Dana Vickers took advantage of the platform to inspire others to embrace “unconventional” passions.
“If you do a little digging, there’s a whole world on the internet…of dance roping,” Vickers said. She went on to tell of her experiences in the inviting community, and how stepping out of her comfort zone has led her to meet people from all over the world.
Many acts embraced the performance opportunity with original ideas that shocked the crowd. Whitney Grubb excited the crowd with an energized tap dance routine to “New Romantics“ by Taylor Swift.
Hana Tabbara had the audience raving about her vocal control after her performance of the classic song, “At Last“ by Etta James. FJ Ellrot brought the crowd to applause with his surprise tear-away costume change during his performance of “Tomorrow“ from the musical Annie.
Two-man-band “The Missileers,” featuring Robert Anerson and Jonathan Cromwell, delivered a unique rock medley twisting well-known songs in an original way. They were followed by another passionate and unique performance by Xavier F. Reynoso singing “The Wizard and I” from the Broadway musical and 2024 film Wicked.
The winner of the event was Ava Winkle, whose performance of “For Better or Worse” from The Great Gatsby Musical was described by an audience member as “absolutely sparkling.”
In her interview, she shared with the crowd all about her personal charity effort “Cookies and Miracles,” through which she shares homemade treats as a personal gesture of love to the homeless community.
The show also featured a special martial arts performance by Team Impact, a local performance team and self-defense center, as well as the winners of last year’s “Moorpark Has Talent” event. The act included many stunts from nunchucks to acrobatics, and even invited the audience to stand and participate in learning a basic Karate form.
Ken Rayzor, the event organizer of “Moorpark Has Talent” said the format of the show focuses on the performances themselves, not critiques.
“People can be afraid of talent shows because the judges might have something snarky to say, but this is old fashioned,” said event organizer Ken Rayzor. “It’s just the community…It’s focused on the performance and not judges’ comments, which again is kind of a throwback.”
Rayzor invited those on the fence about participating next year to give it a try.
“Come join us! It’s really fun! It really is. It’s a receptive audience,” said Rayzor.
While signups for next year’s event are not yet open, information about the event and other events at the High Street Arts Center is available on their website.
