After two years of not having Rockville’s Got Talent (RGT) due to COVID-19, the show returned in-person on Friday, Mar. 25. The show lasted approximately an hour and a half, and presented a total of eight acts.

Throughout the night, various talents were showcased from opera to jazz, each performing for around five minutes. 

 In the first round, all eight contestants performed their first act. The top four contestants advanced to the second and final round, where they performed again. 

The contestants were required to have two performances memorized in preparation for both rounds. 

There were four judges for the show including English teachers David Akatu and Megan Pankiewicz, math teacher Carolyn Lane, and history teacher Jillian Kennedy. 

Junior Olivia Teitelbaum won the show with her performances singing and playing the piano.

“Olivia’s first song from Waitress literally moved me to tears,” English teacher Megan Pankiewicz said. 

Teitelbaum has been singing ever since she can remember, with vocal lessons starting at eight years old. In addition, Teitelbaum’s dad began teaching her piano as a young child, and she officially began piano lessons in seventh grade. 

“For me, music is a way to escape,” junior Olivia Teitelbaum said. “It’s a way for me to connect with people and also kind of put my feelings into not just lyrics but the progression of a piece.” 

In second place came Kilometers Davis, a jazz band, who performed an original piece by Carter Fensterstock. The band consists of seven RHS students, who have been playing together for a couple of years. 

“I was blown away by their talent,” Pankiewicz said. 

In addition to Kilometers Davis’s outstanding performance, they gave the crowd a laugh when musician Ezekiel Hernandez went into a full split on stage. 

“I loved witnessing that joy come out through their performance,” Pankiewicz said. 

In addition to these top two performers, WIllian Holland, a junior at RHS,  put on a compelling show Friday night with his performances of Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke and Survive by Gloria Gaynor. 

“There were two parts that made me laugh out loud, one was Will coming down off the stage and throwing the money at the judges,” Pankiewicz said. 

Tryouts for the show began in late February and ended at the beginning of March, while rehearsals began right after tryouts. 

Due to the pandemic, not many RHS students tried out compared to previous years, nonetheless, the show was still carried out exactly like before COVID-19, except with the Rampage as the sponsor. 

“Ultimately, it’s just about supporting the kids, cheering them on, and recognizing their talents”, Pankiewicz said.