Talented Students Stricken With ‘Thassophobia’

The word “thassophobia” means the fear of being idle, or having an intense hatred of boredom, and a group of Menomonee Falls High School  students could indeed be “thassophobics.” These gifted students have been far from idle practicing for the much anticipated talent show, named after the phobia, that was held Thursday at the school.

Thassophobia started as a poetry read-in at the library in the ‘90s, and has grown into an event that students look forward to all semester.  It has expanded over the years to also include musical acts. 

More than 50 students performed in the show Thursday. Beginning last year, the show outgrew the library and was moved into the auditorium.  It was held during the school day on the last day before Spring Break.  About 400 students attended each of the five class periods it was held — nearly filling the auditorium to capacity.

“We wanted to use this as a chance to show the school the original music we’ve been working on,” said sophomore Kimberly Watry.

Watry sang in a duo called “Autumn Night” with freshman Kat Peck.  For this performance Cal Burg joined them on the djembe, an African drum.  They performed “Dreaming a Little Longer,” an original song. 

Sophomore Keaton Shurilla earned applause for his original music, as played on his Game Boy.  He uses the program Little Sound Dj to synthesize and sequence sounds. 

“I became interested in using LSDj as a unique way to write music,” Shurilla said.

Shurilla is inspired by the music artists Nullsleep and StarPause.

Sophomore Chloe Kwiat played guitar and sang the song “Kids” by MGMT, as performed by The Kooks.

“I like what this song means – growing up isn’t as easy as being a kid and sometimes everyone needs to be reminded of that,” Kwiat said.

Thieves Theme, a band made up of four MFHS juniors - Joe Krivichi on guitar, Garrett Bentzler on guitar, Nick Dorst on bass, and Kirk Hallberg on drums, played two original songs, including “I Hit the Ground Hard.”

Many other students also offered their talents during the show.  Both the performers and the audience enjoyed the variety.

“I like to see how everyone expresses themselves when given the chance to show what they can do,” Watry said.