The annual Coffeehouse event, organized by Northwood’s International Thespian Society (ITS), showcased talented student comedians, poets and musicians on May 21.

Hosted by seniors Jerry Chen and Ali Yuceer at The Oak, the event featured performers from the drama department. While in previous years, coffee was sold at the event as a fundraiser for the department, COVID-19 protocols prevented the sale of coffee. Though students were spaced out, the event still marked the first time students were able to watch performances by the drama department since February 2020.

“Being in-person is great because you get to see all your friends and actually do things without sitting at home or watching,” Chen said. “I’ve had a lot of fun just being able to watch and do things with friends again.”

Prior to the event, volunteers used props from previous musicals like “Mamma Mia” to create the atmosphere. Fixtures like flower columns and busts were reused or repainted to create a beautiful environment for all attendees to enjoy.

“We’re very thankful to put on this event and finally able to work with each other for the last time,” Coffeehouse tech director senior Bri Walsh said. “We really wanted to use the environment of The Oak and use our old props on hand to make something beautiful.”

The event opened with junior Aditi Sreenivas performing her original song “Meadowland” about perseverance and finally feeling safe. After some song covers performed by juniors Alex Fleming and Liv Majestic, senior May Woodrow performed her comedy routine “Who Works at a Public Restroom,” where she criticized the colors of Taco Bell sauce packets, encouraging the kicking of Amazon delivery drones and the lamented the troubles of dealing with a modern-day Nazi. The event is the first time Woodrow was able to perform in front of an audience at Northwood.

“It feels really good getting up on stage and being able to have that reaction from the audience,” Woodrow said. “Performing virtually, you’re not going to get that reaction and you just have to trust that their reactions are there, which makes performing difficult online compared to in-person.”

The night continued with more original songs, covers and poetry. In between each act, the hosts performed fun skits involving sword fighting and even a surprise performance of opera singer Arzu Yuceer. The final act of the show was The Cheech Boys, consisting of seniors Jerry Chen and Tim Hu as vocalists, Sean Kawanami on piano and Sean Yan on a cajon performing a four-man quartet cover of “Surfer Girl” by The Beach Boys.

As seniors of this year are able to perform for the last time, members of the drama department look forward to continuing performing in person this year.

“It’s a refreshing experience coming back and seeing people that I knew as freshmen are now juniors and seniors,” Northwood drama alumnus Johan Obillos said. “It’s nice seeing them develop as performers.