Peyton Wild and Carly Nicolai, a.k.a Truly Brave, will compete in Morristown ONSTAGE, a spectacular amateur talent show, on Feb. 24, 2016, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. The evening is a major fundraiser for the Morris Educational Foundation.
By Kirsten Traudt
Inspiration comes from many places: A matinee idol, a favorite show, an unforgettable lyric.
A different force has propelled young performers Peyton Wild and Carly Nicolai to Morristown ONSTAGE.
They bonded over an indifference to sports.
The Frelinghuysen Middle School students became friends on the sidelines of their brothers’ basketball games, and discovered a love for performing together while taking singing classes at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
Yet despite their familiarity with the venue, Wild and Nicolai have not yet performed together on the MPAC stage.
The duo felt that Morristown ONSTAGE was the next logical step in their partnership, and so began their search for the perfect song to audition.
After much searching on YouTube, they stumbled across Truly Brave, a mash-up of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors and Sara Bareilles’ Brave, created by artist Hode Kotb in order to raise money for pediatric cancer.
Inspired by the song’s message of self-empowerment and its charitable roots, Wild and Nicolai immediately started practicing.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, at 7 pm
Fifteen Greater Morristown amateur acts compete for prizes and bragging rights
Tickets: $25-$75 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, 973-539-8008
Proceeds benefit Morris School District programs
However, even in the audition stage, presentation was just as important as performance. Wild and Nicolai “wanted to do something colorful,” to reflect the nature of the songs, but also wanted to keep a cohesive look. Their solution? Contrasting-colored shirts, with matching scarves tied around their waists as sashes.
Wild’s shirt is pink, her favorite color, while Nicolai compromised with a green shirt to match the scarves they had available. The pair’s dedication to their aesthetic truly was head-to-toe: Both got pink-and-green rubber bands put on their braces to match their costumes.
Despite their voice training and long hours of practice, Wild and Nicolai were shocked when they heard that they had been selected for Morristown ONSTAGE. Nicolai called Wild, who “screamed” while Nicolai “silently jumped up and down.”
The two still feel “a mixture of excited and nervous.” As for many other contenders, this will be the largest audience they have faced. Wild hopes the experience allows them “to grow as performers and singers.”
Which means Wednesday’s show is not the finale for Wild and Nicolai. They plan to continue taking classes at MPAC, and Wild, a sixth-grader, is preparing to join seventh-grader Nicolai in the Frelinghuysen Select Chorus, an audition-only ensemble for middle schoolers.
So Greater Morristown should be hearing a lot more from Truly Brave. And that’s truly lucky.
Kirsten Traudt is a senior at Morristown High School, where she is editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Broadcaster. She also was a prize-winner at the 2013 MorristownGreen.com Film Festival.
All fixed! Good luck tonight, Ladies!
Looking forward to supporting my favorite act in tonight’s show! Correction requested: Carly is in green and Peyton is in Pink. Their names are incorrectly identified in the photos.