BU Hillel hosts first talent show, a virtual, intimate event

Boston University Hillel called all musicians, magicians and every act in between to star in its first virtual, intimate talent show Thursday night on Zoom.

Moriah Schoeffer, a junior in the College of Communication, led organization efforts for the “Care Fellowship Talent Show” as part of her responsibilities as a student care fellow.

Fellows work together to support the BU Jewish community through a variety of activities and resources. As a fellow, Schoeffer said she has been planning the event since the start of the Fall semester.

“Part of my fellowship at the Hillel is basically putting on an event that’s free to people during the pandemic,” she said in an interview before the event. “We want to try to have some more inclusivity involved, so what we’re trying to do is, via Zoom, try to put on this talent show.”

Caila Katz, the sole singer of the night, sang Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way,” from the “A Star is Born” soundtrack. Katz’s performance was unplanned, but her singing skills shone through.

“I didn’t plan on performing, actually, I just wanted to,” Katz said. “I chose that song on the spot, simply because it’s something I’ve sung before in the past, and I enjoyed singing.”

Katz, a junior in the College of Fine Arts, said she has been slightly involved in Hillel and went to the event to support the organization and a friend in the club.

She added she has been performing her whole life and hopes to continue even after her time at BU.

“I’ve been performing in some shape or form since I was very little,” Katz said. “Performance and art, art in every form, all different forms, I think that’s what I want to do long term.”

Meg Wallach, a junior at Penn State University, attended the talent show as an audience member and has known Schoeffer since they were five years old. She also participates in her own campus Hillel, but not to the same involvement as Schoeffer.

“I thought it was a really cute, clever idea to get people engaged in Hillel,” she said in an interview. “It was really fun how people could volunteer to do different talents.”

Wallach said she enjoyed Katz’s performance and how students could choose to showcase their talents in different ways.

Recruiting performers and attendees was a challenge when planning the event, Schoeffer said, because finals are approaching, and students often have other engagements in the evenings.

“We didn’t really have too big of an audience,” Schoeffer said. “That’s definitely something we can look forward to next semester if we do put on another talent show.”

However, Schoeffer said it was a positive experience to watch the show come together.

She considers her experience organizing the talent show as a small step toward her goal of entering the entertainment industry as a talent manager post-graduation.

“I’ve always been obsessed, if you will, with pop culture and entertainment business,” Schoeffer said, “and anything that surrounds around talent … is encompassing what I want to do.”