Ann Arbor’s public high schools put on a lot of events. From Community’s Commstock to Huron’s Multi Culti, each school has a signature event that is unique to their space. For Pioneer, this is Future Stars, described as “a citywide talent search for Ann Arbor’s next star.”
Students across the district are selected to sing, script and stage the two-and-a-half hour show, and they spend a few months preparing material and choreography. Underclassmen (RisingStars) perform two medleys and upperclassmen (FutureStars) have the chance to show off their talent in solo, duo and group performances judged by notable Ann Arbor figures.
The production is student-focused: student hosts introduce each performance, and student crews build the sets and special effects. However, it is up to the judges to select the top five performances, one of which will be crowned the Future Star(s) of 2025. This choice is signaled by the audience, who applauds for the act that they believe should be the winner. The act that receives the most noise wins the one-of-a-kind honor of being that year’s “Future Star”.
Jacqueline Boynton
This year, one of the winners was CHS senior Jacqueline Boynton, who was awarded the title honor alongside Pioneer senior Lily Wright. Boynton joined Pioneer’s Theatre Guild (PTG) earlier in the year to act as Medda in “Newsies,” but this was her first time doing Future Stars. While she had watched the show herself for the past two years, she had never had a chance to sing like that before.
“I was like, ‘I need to do this,’” Boynton said. “I feel like you can sing behind a character, which is really interesting, but when you’re just by yourself, it’s completely different. I’m a theater kid, so being in that vulnerable space and just singing and being yourself has been super challenging, but also super cool to learn.”
Boynton loved having a space to be herself. She loved the environment and people in PTG, and her favorite part was having it all come together. The performers had been practicing their songs separately for around five weeks before their first full run-through, and Boynton found it to be a cool experience having her coaches and peers cheering her on throughout the process and getting to do the same for her friends and seeing their hard work.
“It was really inspiring to see everyone just leave it all on the stage,” Boynton said. “I applaud anyone who hasn’t been in theater or been in that public eye before, because it’s extremely vulnerable and it’s really challenging to overcome that.”
Boynton performed a solo, “No One” by Alicia Keys, and a duet, “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars; and while she found it helpful to have a partner to lean on, it was nerve-wracking to know that if she made a mistake, it wouldn’t just be on her.
“I think for a duet, you’re with another person, and we’re both in a vulnerable state,” Boynton said. “We both worked really hard, and it’s like, I don’t want to mess up for my partner.”
However, Boynton accepted that it’s okay to be vulnerable, because this is a very vulnerable thing. At the end of the day, she just needed to go easy on herself and have fun.
“You’re literally just yourself, and you’re singing, and it’s a really crazy experience,” Boynton said. “Literally no one is judging you. We’re all just doing the same thing.”
Rosie Matish
Sophomore Rosie Matish watched Future Stars 2024 and knew she wanted to do it the next year. Similar to Boynton, Matish was familiar with Pioneer’s stage, having landed ensemble roles in their 2024 spring and fall musicals, but this was the first time she would be singing as herself rather than a character.
“If you mess up, you’re messing up as you,” Matish said. “You’re not portraying a character. You’re showing off your talent. The audience is more connected to you, which is kind of scary, but I think it’s a really good way to get confident in your skills and be more comfortable with your talent level.”
This year, Matish has noticed a lot of overlap between Community Ensemble Theatre (CET) and Pioneer Theater Guild (PTG). Many students have either participated in both, switch companies between shows or are trying out new things this year.
“I think it’s really good to have that overlap and have those connections to different theater companies to learn more about what you enjoy in theater and what you want to do,” Matish said.
She herself was one of those students, having worked on tech for CET’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” while acting in the cast of PTG’s “Newsies” before returning after winter break for Future Stars, where she performed two group medleys with 16 other underclassmen as a RisingStar.
Surrounded by other underclassmen in RisingStars, Matish felt less intimidated than she did when working in a show with “crazy talented” seniors. Since everyone was still new at what they were doing, it fostered a closer community where people felt nervous about the show but very excited to do it.
To Matish, the RisingStars have such a tight knit connection that it just feels like one big friend group. She loves “the whole show biz” aspect of it all: performing, having solos, being able to sing and dance. Matish thinks it’s a good way to ease into doing theater for the first time without the pressure of doing a full show.
“Being confident in your skills can go a long way, even if you don’t think you’re good enough to be somewhere or do something,” Matish said. “Even if you don’t have the skills yet to do a lot of stuff, it can help to just work really hard and act like you do.”
Leila Durrie
Leila Durrie has been coming to see Future Stars for as long as she can remember. To her, it was the show of PTG; the one she went to see every year. Durrie had always wanted to be part of Future Stars, so getting to participate as a senior was a dream come true. She saw it as an opportunity for more people to showcase their voices as opposed to main stage shows where the goal is to blend in.
While Durrie has a lot of confidence on the stage, she was very aware of the amount of people in the audience. It can be overwhelming to have the entire space of the stage to yourself.
“I never look into the audience,” Durrie said. “I always look right into the lights so I’m blinded.”
Durrie has been doing musical theater since she was in kindergarten. Her first show was “The Wizard of Oz,” where she and other homeschoolers portrayed munchkins on the stage. Durrie remembers a lot from her first acting opportunity, and sees it as the origin for her love of theater.
“It’s such a good way to express yourself,” Durrie said. “Work promotions, get exercise, make new friends. It’s so much I’m so passionate about.”
Durrie performed a duet of Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever” with blended lyrics from both the English and Spanish versions. She and her co-star Mia Abbasi both speak Spanish, and their act is the only part of the entire show that is in a different language. Durrie’s mom is also fluent, and was excited to hear them sing in Spanish.
“I love singing in Spanish,” Durrie said. “It’s amazing to have that opportunity to sing both, especially as a senior with one of my good friends. It’s a fun surprise for everyone to hear, especially native Spanish speakers.”
Durrie used to train classically, singing songs in Italian with a more operatic vocal style. She prefers to sing in other languages, noting that in romance languages, she has a different voice.
Durrie and Abbasi wanted to pay homage to Shakira and incorporate belly dancing into the choreography. They met up on the weekends to collaborate on the staging, which allowed them to have more influence than they would in a typical theatrical production.
“As a theater kid, you’re used to being told what your choreography is,” Durrie said, “But we really got to feel the music and figure out what we wanted to do.”
When Durrie started PTG in 10th grade, she was terrified about coming into such a big school and incorporating herself into a new group. Despite the different people and atmosphere, she found everyone to be welcoming and felt emotional about Future Stars being her last PTG show.
“Coming into a different school gives you a different mindset on the audience you’re performing for and who you’re representing,” Durrie said. “I feel like I’m representing my school when I’m performing with Pioneer. In the show, they announce us and say what school we’re from, and I’m like, ‘I’m a Community kid.’”
Ellie Fox
The first time Ellie Fox watched Future Stars, she thought, I could never be that talented. A couple of months later, she was sitting backstage at “Newsies” with her fellow castmates, listening to them talk about their Future Star auditions. They told her that she should try out. Fox said that she’d think about it. She was exhausted from her performances, her voice was scratchy and tired, but she decided to audition on a whim. She made it in.
Fox was one of six juniors who would perform as a FutureStar this year, and she sang “Say You’ll Be There” with four other girls a lá Spice Girls. Choreographing was challenging due to managing five different schedules at different schools, and the group ended up meeting as a full group only once, sending the material they worked on in smaller groups. Since not everyone was a dancer, the choreographing was about finding a balance between looking good and not being too difficult.
“It’s like, ‘Is it gonna be boring, or is it gonna be messy?’” Fox said. “You have to find that balance. I definitely think we did.”
Fox noticed that while she and her girl group started act one for the Future Stars, it was concluded by a song by a boy band (NSYNC’S “I Want You Back”), which she thought was a nice touch. Her act two performance was “Please Please Please” with Sabrina Carpenter, which she sang as part of a trio. Fox was grateful for the opportunity to sing a song that showed off her high vocal range, and even more grateful for a chance to sing the melody. Since she learns her music by listening to it rather than reading it, it can be trickier to pick up harmonies.
Fox’s sister, a Pioneer alumni, came to see Fox perform at her old high school. When Fox’s sister went to Pioneer, she tried convincing Fox to try out for Future Stars.
“She was like, ‘You’d be so good. You’d do amazing,’ and I didn’t really want to try it out,” Fox said. “Now, here I am.”
Future Stars taught Fox a lot about her voice and her limits. While she doesn’t see herself pursuing musical theater as a career, it has helped her to realize what she is capable of and that she doesn’t need to put so much pressure on herself. She didn’t feel like coming from another school made anything different, and she thought it was great that all students were given a chance to audition.
“It’s like if someone plays a sport at a different school,” Fox said. “They don’t make it feel like it’s gonna be different. It’s just part of their school day.”
Kate Groves
Kate Groves performed as a Rising Stars both her freshman and sophomore year, but for her senior year, she decided to see the other side of things as a host. She saw it as an opportunity to strengthen her public speaking skills and get to support her friends and their performances.
“I was very much looking forward to what the experience would bring,” Groves said. “All the people I’d meet through it, and all the friendships I would form.”
The hosts perform a skit at the beginning of the show, and then provide information about who’s in the band, who’s helping out backstage and information about how the show works. They keep everything running smoothly and entertain the audience between acts.
For Groves, her favorite part of Future Stars were the people. Since the nature of the show requires more individual work and compartmentalization, it wasn’t until tech week that everybody came together for the first time.
“It’s a ton of fun to all support each other and hear each other sing and perform,” Groves said. “I think that would be my favorite part, just getting back together with everybody again.”
Groves’ favorite transition is right before the RisingStars “Wicked” medley, the closer of the first act of the show. She enjoyed getting to be silly with her co-hosts, belting out the famous “Wicked” riff as the transition to the medley.
“Future stars is just another way for me to have fun with theater in a new way,” Groves said. “It’s so different from anything that I’ve ever done before.”
Groves credits the crew as the “magic behind Future Stars,” specifically highlighting the tremendous impact and necessity of the lights, sound, set, band and all the people doing a fantastic job behind the scenes.
“If you’re watching it, [the band] sounds so much like the tracks and the original songs,” Groves said. “It’s hard to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, those musicians are actually playing that music live,’ and it’s so incredible. I’m always awestruck by how amazing they are.”
One thing that Groves has learned from the experience is that it’s okay to lean on people when needed. There were times where she needed someone’s opinion on material or where she was nervous about going out and introducing somebody, and she knew she could lean on not only her host friends for support, but also everybody else in the cast and crew.
“Future Stars can be so individualized,” Groves said. “It’s so important to be able to lean on the people around you for support and comfort. I’ve just realized through this experience how much we are there for each other. I think it’s such a valuable thing to have in a big group of people.”
For those who are thinking of joining the show next year, Groves had nothing but good things to say.
“You will learn so much from the experience,” Groves said. “You will grow as a person and meet so many wonderful, amazing people, and so I definitely recommend it.”
