Mike Schertenlieb
For the last four or five years, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of volunteering a small chunk of time for the West Michigan Student Showcase, an annual event that celebrates excellence in academics, athletics, literary arts, performing arts, and visual arts.
Each year, Showcase recognizes high school students from Mason, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Ottawa counties, including two nights of performances at downtown Muskegon’s beautiful Frauenthal Center.
As a component of these performances (that range from rock bands to dance, monologues to classical music), the Frauenthal provides a drum set for the students to use – and that’s where I come in!
When I’m not writing and editing for LongerDays, I’m playing drums (seriously, as much as I possibly can). With that set of skills, I can help Showcase have great performances by volunteering my time to ensure the kit is set up properly, tune the drums, and make any necessary adjustments. It doesn’t take me a ton of time, but it’s a valuable service for the Showcase technical staff – and it’s an opportunity for me to play in a gorgeous, empty, booming theater…
…But there’s more going on here than just being a drummer and doing a little tinkering. LongerDays is directly connected to Showcase in a variety of ways.
One of our managers, Andrew, is the Director of the show! He’s been involved in the organization since early high school, and has been directing for something like 9 years! In fact, a TON of our staff has been in Showcase over the years too. My very first time, Andrew and I performed together in a percussion group. I was my high school’s literary arts representative the following year. Emily and Megan have both done vocal performances, Mikey played keyboards with an ensemble…
All of us have fond memories of the event, and even see it as part of the path to becoming the performers many of us are today. So, it’s not just some volunteering, or doing Andrew a favor, or even some drum nerding (which I’m always game for) – it’s ongoing participation in a community tradition near and dear to my heart.
It’s an honor to be able to help, and now that I’ve been doing it for several years, it feels good to be “part of the team” – even if it’s only for 20 minutes a year. I know they appreciate the help and expertise, and I’m happy to do anything I can to make the performances their best!
I plan on continuing to offer this small service for the foreseeable future, and couldn’t be happier that it connects to my past and my passion, that it helps my friend and coworker, that it adds another layer of connectivity between Showcase and LongerDays, and of course, that I get to play that great Yamaha kit in a humongous theater for a few minutes…
Until next year, Showcase drums!
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