Kicking off Homecoming week, the staff’s quad day performance during lunch on Monday wasn’t dampened by rainy weather that forced it to take place in the Large Gym.
The show centered on the theme of the popular “The Lord of the Rings” book series and movies.
The dance involved 36 staff members and featured songs ranging from classics like “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé to modern pop songs like “Takedown” from the popular movie KPop Demon Hunters.
The skit followed a “fellowship of teachers.” Frodo was played by English teacher Megan Laws; Sam was played by art teacher Nikki Dully; Aragorn was played by attendance technician Mandy Armes; Gimli was played by history teacher Amanda Lupoli while Pippin and Merry were played by drama teacher Ben Brotzman and activities director Mark Higashioka.
All these characters are gathered by Gandalf, played by English teacher Erick Rector. Their quest: to destroy the Phone of Power before it falls into the hands of Gollum, a part played by English teacher Jason Friend, and the Evil Eye of Sauron (a mashup of TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram).
As a satirical take on media-dominated student life, the skit used humor and pop culture to make the point that teens today are consuming so much social media and AI that they risk losing genuine connection, curiosity and individuality. Incorporating numerous references to “brain rot” jokes that ignited eruptions of laughter among the crowd, the staff skit delivered both a funny and reflective message. Additionally, it encouraged students to show up for their community, cheering for the football team set to play against Cupertino at home on Friday night.
The creation of such a script — filled with puns like “smombies” (smartphone zombies) and the phone update of AI (Absolute Idiocy) 18 — was a collaborative effort. While English teachers Amy Keys and Rector wrote most of the script, countless other teachers brainstormed plot ideas generated from the themes, characters and plot events from “The Lord of the Rings.”
Laws took on the role of organizing rehearsals and working with the staff cast to further develop and fine-tune the script, as well as making props. For the final dress rehearsal, Armes drew on her theater background to help everyone think through entrances and exits, timing and coordination of everything from sound to props and blocking.
“The main aspect behind the scenes of our performance was what a total group effort it was,” Keys said. “While I did take some early writing on, by the end it was so much better because of the work everyone else had put into it. It truly was a shared group effort.”
Science teacher Kristen Thomson was the lead choreographer, as she has been many times in the past. Though many of the dance inspirations were from videos she found online, English teacher Natasha Ritchie, Thomson’s daughter sophomore Isla Thomson and Class of ‘25 alum Shaan Janardhan threw in suggestions of dance moves that ended up in the final compilation.
The Homecoming performance itself was full of energy. From actors that fully embodied their characters — such as Friend playing Gollum — to a comical moment when athletic director Rick Ellis ripped open his shirt to drop down and do Superman push-ups, the engaging performance contributed to high spirits among onlookers in the large gym.
The final segment was a mash-up of each grade’s Homecoming themes. It was brought to fruition by science teacher Jennifer Lee.
All the staff spent one session just brainstorming the little dances that they could do for the showcase, which culminated in bursts of cheering for every theme as the lunch bell rang.
While witty brainrot phrases and comical “smombies” roaming around scrolling on makeshift phones were hits among the audience, participation and community shone in this year’s dance.
“This opportunity to get together, play and create with folks in all kinds of departments is what makes Homecoming so fun for us as staff,” Keys said. “We hope it makes it fun for students, too, to see their teachers messing around and having a good time together.”
Thomson emphasized the community built over the weeks spent planning and rehearsing the show. While most teachers spend most time in their own departments, frequent practices allowed every faculty member to bond with each other.
“The support, the collaboration, the welcoming of trying new things — all of that makes the workplace so wonderful. This is one of the few times I get to hang out with a lot of people I don’t normally get to hang out with,” Thomson said. “We have some really awesome teachers and quad day just gives us an opportunity to have fun together.”
The event included a variety of school and district employees, from superintendent Heath Rocha to guidance counselors and new teachers like Higashioka. Though he admitted being nervous before the performance, Higashioka said it was to see the fun side of the event.
“I really got to know a handful of staff well and joke around and practice,” Higashioka said. “And it’s really cool to have that camaraderie and get to know staff on a different level.”
