UCI’s annual talent show and competition, Soulstice, was canceled in light of recent measurements to safeguard individuals from the increased spread of COVID-19. The event was scheduled to be held at the Bren Events Center on April 9.
Soulstice League, a group of students responsible for hosting the show and providing entertainment in between the talent acts, had prepared their comedy relief, commercials and choreography before the cancellation.
“When the news dropped, it was the day of my Soulstice League meeting and that day would actually be our last meeting. My heart really dropped. I ended up making a huge speech for my team … I was pretty devastated,” Soulstice Co-Captain Phero Ngo said..
According to Ngo, the team dedicated the entire school year writing scripts and song parodies, filming sketches and directing live ones and rehearsing in time for the big day.
“Even though we don’t have a live stage for us to stand on, we are really proud of all the work that we have done so no matter what, it’s just the matter of switching the platform where we showcase our work,” Soulstice Co-Captain Alyssa Le said.
The group released a public teaser on their Instagram stating that the league “is coming back stronger than ever.” Following this announcement, the team repurposed their videos as online content to be released weekly on YouTube.
“We are going to respond by releasing videos every Thursday at noon so that one, our hard work does not go to waste, and two, we can bring UCI students together as a community and laugh at content that we create,” Timothy Hoang, a Soulstice League member, said.
Currently, two segments have already been uploaded with more expected to come.
“It’s nice to see my friends’ faces in it and to also see the new Soulstice League members because I know it must have been hard for them to put in so much work and not get to perform live this year,” Megan Le, a Vermillion Vocalists Acapella member, said.
According to Ngo, next year, which will be the show’s 10th anniversary, will be a “redemption year.” Until then, their league will be operating remotely with online content.
Allen Serrano is a Campus News Intern for the 2020 spring Quarter. He can be reached at allenjs1@uci.edu.
