In Panem, tributes fought for survival. At LM, tributes fought for recognition and their charity of choice. The Hunger Games inspired sixteenth annual Amazing Ace was an operation that began in early October, culminating on January 30 in a night of competition that unites students, staff, and audience members alike to support charities.
An introduction video edited by Matty De Jesus ’26 kicked off the show, depicting the reaping of each tribute and featuring commentary from the emcees Chase Pearlman ’26 and Zach Levin ’26 whose faces were painted in the colorful makeup reminiscent of Hunger Games announcers. Then, sprinkled between the talents came the partner dance, Q&A’s led by Maya Zada ’26, creative catwalks, and performances from the LM Dance Team and LM Acapella. All of this was emceed by Pearlman and Levin, who captivated the audience with a natural back and forth banter. Amazing Ace sponsor and Physics teacher Nora Christman marveled, “Chase and Zach were really good and really fun. Having done this so many times, a lot of times there can be an awkwardness when there’s a prolonged period of time when there’s nothing going on, and that was never the vibe.”
Electronics District 3’s tribute was Katie Potts-Drew ’26 accompanied by sidekick Joe O’Gara ’26, supporting The Arc of Chester County, which provides support for people with special needs and their families. They delivered an epic light saber duel complete with droids and a toilet zooming across the stage. “The dialogue was very creative and the choreography of the light sabers seemed like it took a long time to practice,” said Hope Simon ’26.
Shira Dorff ’26 represented Fishing District 4 alongside sidekick Wren Field ’27, fundraising for the National Fragile X Foundation, a charity funding research for a Fragile X cure, a rare genetic disorder that their brother was born with. They identified forty countries within a couple minutes just by their outlines. “As a social studies teacher, [seeing someone] being able to name 39 out of forty countries with vague blue outlines, I was like that’s really impressive,” commented Jeffery Cahill.
Embodying Power and Electricity, the District 5 tribute Lily Hinze ’26 supported Planned Parenthood, providing reproductive healthcare and education. She partnered with De Jesus, as well several other talented musicians, to perform an emotional and orchestral rendition of “Love In the Dark” by Adele complete with orchestral accompaniment. “Being Lily’s sidekick was amazing…I think our voices complement each other well and I’m glad we were able to perform [Love In the Dark] specifically,” said De Jesus. Sydney Lancaster ’27, a cellist, said, “We rehearsed during lunch a couple times a week and it was really fun to work with everyone and everyone sounded amazing.”
James Potter ’26 repped Transportation District 6 with sidekick Lola Widjaja ’26, fundraising for Steps to Cure Sarcoma, which supports sarcoma cancer research and treatment through partnerships with Penn Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. He performed a solo contemporary dance that awed the audience. Potter said, “My highlight was how supportive the entire crowd was. It was the most hype crowd I’ve ever danced in front of.”
Amit Brenner ’26 was the tribute from District 7 of Lumber with Ben Bancoff ’26 supporting the charity Musicopia, which helps music education reach those who can’t afford it. He energized the audience with a spectacular drum act, along with fellow musicians Florian Shah ’26 and Guia Betancourt ’28.
Audrey Smith ’26 from District 8 of Textiles faced off against her sidekick Mina Matsumoto ’26 in a fiery lip syncing battle and supported the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which helps thousands of people in crisis each day. Zoia Downie ’27 said, “The use of Audrey’s props in her act made her performance stand out.”
Elliott Boldin ’27 representing the Grain District 9 supported The Liv Project, which aims to spark conversations and provide resources to take the topic of youth mental health out of the shadows. Boldin, sidekick Zoe Halpern ’27, and his friends put on a show that transformed the auditorium into his own personal pop concert, leaving audiences begging for an encore. Boldin said, “My act was super complex so we had hours and hours of rehearsals with my entire cast. We had to make all of our costumes and gather all of our props. It was a whole spectacle but we did it after hours of Saturday rehearsals all the time, so much work, we got it done.”
Aaron Silber ’26 as the Livestock District 10 with Cees Gosweiler ’26 supported the Philly Friendship Circle, a Jewish nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities create meaningful relations with others. He performed a dancebreaking routine inspired by the viral 2024 Summer Olympics sensation. Silber said, “It was definitely a highlight, almost breaking my spine when I did that backflip. But it was an amazing experience for me and I got to raise a lot of money for charity.”
Judging the talents were social studies teacher Christine Dolente, english teachers Trish Hodos and Tiffany Kannengieszer, physics teacher Robert Walker–winner of Amazing Ace 2013, Catherine Taillandier ’29, Naohiro Mori ’28, Gemma Pahys ’27, Sofia Viator ’26, and the Amazing Ace 2025 winner, Lucia Ridgeway ’26. Contestants were judged on their talent, charisma, dancing skills, catwalk enthusiasm, and originality. From a judging perspective, Kannengieszer revealed, “I liked finding out that the audience score is such a small part…and that the judges’ scores take up the larger percentage. I was happy to see that it’s not just a popularity contest…[The show] seemed very well put together and there was a nice range of different types of talent too.”
Preparing for the big day was a complex and thorough process. The production was directed under the leadership of Eden Charlson ’26 and Claire Evans ’26. Christman explained, “It starts with a conversation with the senior class officers and usually a subset of players leadership because they run the behind the scenes of [the stage]. We get together early in the year, we make a plan for a theme, and we make a timeline as far as interviews and applications. The process to become a contestant is pretty involved. They have to submit an application, a talent preview, and they have to interview. We narrow it down from usually about twenty applicants to eight contestants.”
The stage crew consisted of Stage Manager AJ Higgins ’26, Assistant Stage Managers Isaac Polsky ’27, and Miriya Vargas ’27. Vargas said, “We would help manage scheduling, [and] try to make sure that… We were all on top of the general management aspect of Amazing Ace.”
During the final stretch in January, scheduling conflicts arose with winter weather and extracurriculars putting a wrench in the plan. Christman said, “Missing the two days the week of the show [due to snow] was tricky. And while one of the things I love about [Amazing Ace] is that the folks who do it were involved, the challenging piece of that is trying to get everyone in the same place. So, up until the night of the show, we had never run the whole show, because there was always someone who was at something else.”
Conflict arose when schedules suddenly shifted due to Potter having to leave earlier than expected, and Vargas explained, “We had to reorder the events of the show during intermission. And then we had to cut intermission five minutes short. It was terrifying. But it turned out really well.”
By the end of the night, Amazing Ace history was made, with Boldin being the sole contestant to both raise the most money and be crowned Amazing Ace. Boldin said, “I was in shock. I had no expectation to win at all. I was really just going to raise money for charity. When they called my name…my heart exploded and I immediately started sobbing. It was a really awesome moment.” Boldin’s act was beloved by the audience. Sofia Chletsos ’27 said, “All I can think of is Elliott, Elliott, Elliott, Elliott.”
Sixteen years in, Amazing Ace continues to evolve, but its core remains strong. Each year brings a new theme, striking talents, and indelible memories. Amazing Ace is not only a beloved LM tradition, but an event using talent to bring people together in support of something greater than themselves.
