On March 21, the Main Thing returned to LB’s Little Theater to promote and share art in the school’s community. Having been canceled last year due to low artist turnout, the third incarnation of the show received much interest across a vast spectrum of artists. Performances were hybridizations of various art forms: spoken word poems crossed with documentaries, short stories with musical accompaniment, animation crossed with original poems. The reception to the show was enthusiastic and seemed destined to establish the Main Thing as a staple of the arts program in LB.

“I think it gives the arts an opportunity to shine,” senior Micah Super said. “This was my first year doing it and I enjoyed seeing that type of thing happen.”

The Main Thing began three years ago as the brainchild of English teacher Mr. McCabe, music teacher Mr. Graham, and fine arts teacher Ms. Dim. Growing out of past collaborations across educational departments, the Main Thing was created to formalize these joint-projects into an annual showcase of the arts. The rules were simple: original works partnered with separate mediums. The results were unique collaborations giving birth to dozens of highly original works of art. The show is structured such that it’s only supervised by the teachers and administrators. The show itself is very much up to the students.

“Together they create this kind of synergy that’s bigger than (the individual artist),” McCabe said.

This year’s edition of the Main Thing saw the same level of ingenuity across all of those performing. The pieces varied from everything between serious spoken word poems exploring the nature of racial identity, to throwing paint at a canvas with live electric guitar accompaniment. The show included short films by sophomore Austin Ryder and another by senior Sean Shultis, an original song by senior Ben Durkee, accompanied by animation by senior Raquel Bumgarner, and original poems by junior Sophia Saucer, to name just a small selection amongst many talented artists. There were acts that were more lighthearted than others, but each felt as though they had something very vital to say. Seniors Kim Salac and Salem Zelalem performed an original poem together, inspired by their shared experiences as immigrants. The act combined documentary footage they shot, talking with other students about their own racial identities and the accompanying expectations from society. It was one of the many moving pieces the Main Thing showcased.

“This was a moment where I actually had to bring up a lot of stuff that I never really talked about with anyone,” Salac said.

The Main Thing will return next year. Until then, the annual art show in the gym is coming up later this month where students will once again be able to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity that is proving to be so abundant at LB.