There comes a time in a young person’s life when they start to get it. Start to figure it out. Whether that comes in a singular moment in their personal journey or amongst friends and family as everyone figures it out together, those seminal points in time are both exciting and enlightening.
For Liza Weatherton, being a senior member of both Fusion and Expressions at Fairfield High School has provided an awakening in her soul. Fully immersed in the show choir scene, Weatherton wears the Fusion and Expression badges with pride. And it’s not a bad place to be, as Weatherton is a senior leader for one of the top show productions in the state, which will be competing at the ISSMA State Finals this weekend.
“I think it’s been really different than previous years,” began Weatherton, stepping out of choir class for a few minutes earlier this week. “It’s been easier and I think it’s the group we have right now. We all feel really close. It’s fun to take a lot of time and pinpoint the little things that will get the crowd to feel an emotion, and then build from that.”
Asked if there was a moment where the light switch came on for her as a performer, Weatherton didn’t point to anything specific. But mentioned a maturing phase between her sophomore and junior years really had her understanding stage production, and thus, allowed her to take the next steps in leadership. In what is a proud tradition of show choir at Fairfield High School, the walls outside the choir room where Weatherton and her friends gather each day are reminders that this isn’t just another thing to pass time to graduation.
It’s a chance to leave a legacy.
“There are so many little moments when you can get frustrated or point fingers at other people, but there have been so many times this year I have just taken a step back and remembered why I love this,” stated Weatherton, occasionally glancing outside the door to some of her friends heckling her. “It’s because of the people and the performances we get to put on. It’s really special when you stand back and look at each individual and say, ‘I’m grateful for you, and here’s why.’”
Weatherton has figured out how to perform at a high level, as have seven of her peers as they are all competing and performing with both Fusion and Expressions programs among the three dozen or so Fairfield performers who will be in greater Indianapolis this Saturday. It’s just a product of her love for the environment, as she also is part of the spring school musical, The Little Mermaid, which is dividing more of her time. The senior class has also virtually had a different choir director in each of her six years at Fairfield Jr/Sr High School, but has embraced the new direction of Clayton Thomas and Cadence Lehman.
“They understand music, and they understand this lifestyle I am living, and what my friends are dealing with as well,” Weatherton said. “It helps that they have gone through this themselves, they know what kind of time it takes to perform, all the practice that goes into this. At first, it felt like they needed us more than we needed them when they started. Now, it’s flipped, and we do need them a lot more. They’re also stressed, they have to grade us! It’s helped us become a team in here.”
The camaraderie of the performing arts right now is high, particularly this weekend heading into the state competitions. For Weatherton and the show choirs, they know the stakes are high, but it’s another chance to show off what they have been working on for so long.
“We just really enjoy music for what it is, and how special it is to us,” Weatherton said. “We all love making music, how passionate we are about music. About performing, the beauty of it. There’s a lot of gratitude of how lucky and blessed we are. I can honestly say that I have never been part of a music group, or anything, where it feels like we are all best friends. We all feel very connected.”