Great Virtual Talent Show Ideas for Students

So you’ve got the acting bug and you’re screaming inside because you neeeeeed to get back into singing, dance and acting. Virtual talent shows for your school, local area, town or city is the way to go.

If you’re a teacher send your students these ideas in a link. If you’re a drama teacher or coach let them know of a range of ideas they can do using some of the ideas below.

A virtual talent show is where talent choose a performance piece, rehearse and perform the performance art-form on an online platform such as Zoom, Google Hangouts. People film their work from home filming on phones and uploading it to a virtual platform. Online talent shows can be done live or pre-recorded and uploaded to be judged.

How To Set Up Your Online/Virtual Talent Show

Just like any other type of talent show, you’ll need to set parameters. You may need to think of the students who are in your school, group or area who are likely to want to participate.

Consider their ages, likes and dislikes as well as their talents. For instance if you work with usual elementary school groups, simply ask them what kinds of performances they’ed like to do. (email, or google hangout with them).

Get a list of ideas from them, but also from the list below. These are great ideas for your students and with practically any age.

What kinds of performance pieces should I use with my children, or students?

Create a Skit

Students write, or improv a skit of their choice. They may need to plan, work it, block it and video it to see what is working and what needs to be changed up if need be. They need to think of props, setting and costuming which should be inline with their theme and they also need to think about the angle of the camera. Is it wide enough to take in the actors in the piece.

Sing a Song

Like all the main talent shows, students can search for age and content appropriate songs online, find a Karaoke version of it, research for the lyrics and rehearse. They could ask for feedback with their parents or siblings for tips if they’re brave enough.

Perform a Dance

Research good music, choreograph your dance yourself and then rehearse over and over until you are awesome and confident at it. When filming your online dance, make sure that you’ve got enough wide angle in yoru camera lense to pick up all your dancing.

Paint a Creative Art work

Paint or draw an amazing artwork within a set period of time 2-3 minutes. Use paints, pastels, pencils or sand on glass with a light coming through.

Puppet Show

Students can organise puppets they may already have at home. Or they can make puppets using socks, wools and bright colored material. Use a simple online script to act out using a simple storyline arc. Beginning, rising action, climax, resolution and ending.

Hey, If you are a teacher or student who loves theater and drama games, please check out my post here on Great Virtual Drama Games.

Decorating A Cake

A brilliant idea if your students have the cake making equipment. Have a cake already made, preferably with the main icing on the cake. From there film a shot of the decorating of a cake, showcasing precision and skills.

Jump Rope Tricks

Using a skipping rope or jump rope come up with an entertaining and trick infused jump rope act. The more skill based the better performance and the more likely you’ll impress the judges.

Cupping Tricks

Using plastic party drinking cups students can search online for great ideas in how to create good pyramid and change it up. Why not add in a song with it and work a choreographed routine with the cups. They could incorporate singing as well.

Get your cheap gold cups to impress the judges here.

Home Stunt Tricks

Have student make an obstacle course where they showcase their fun jump tricks. They could incorporate basket ball shots, go over objects and under ropes. Set it up in a well coordinated way and make sure the camera catches the action.

Use bmx bikes, scooters, and basket balls to help your routine look amazing.

Mime Artistry

Students can choreograph a mime routine where they pretend they are in an invisible box, go under a small tunnel, sit on a shelf, open a door, punt along the river or walk ‘down stairs’.

Check out my post on mime performances in how to do it.

For a great idea for actual mime costume the link will take you to a reasonable priced female outfit. The male outfits can be searched in the bar.

Face Painting

Students can organise a tray full of fun face painting items. The Virtual talent show could incorporate face painting skills and design as part of its line up. You can check out some great ideas from Pinterest and online. The best face-painting items can be purchased here from Amazon. They are the best stage makeup ideas and also the more inexpensive ideas.

theater girl — Clown makes funny faces to make laugh

Trampoline Tricks

What would a virtual talent show be without a trampoline trick routine? Surprisingly many young people have trampolines in their back yard. Many of these students imagine themselves to be masters at trampoline tricks. Time to bring out a great routine with a couple minutes of a song. Make sure not to film with the sun looking into the camera.

Magic Tricks

Students can arrange their own magic tricks in which they source from the internet and practice with props they and source from home.

SPOKEN word Poetry

Students can research online poems to present online. Or they can write their own using senses. Poems which provoke or which reveal our inner thoughts about an important topic get traction with judges. Get students to speak with passion and from the heart and they will feel a real sense of accomplishment. Check out this site to get you started.

Story Telling

Retell a story from childhood, family history, an indigenous story from all over the world. The more expressive the better. Make sure there is an arc which shows and interesting ending.

Drum Jam

If a student is lucky enough to have a drum kit or guitar or other musical instrument and can play with skill then this might be a winner. Choose a song to rehearse and make it happen. Or they could make it their own song.

Doggie Tricks

Students can use their pets to do tricks and or perform some rehearsed moves. People love dog tricks and this would be a fun way to show cuteness and fun in a virtual talent show.

Soundscape

Students can make a soundscape using instruments and or household items to play a made up sound scape of some kind. Imagine using pots and pans, combined with actual instruments.This soundscape can accompany an already told story with the track played behind it or it can be played live.

check out my recent blog posts here.

Lipsyncing

Students can choose a song to lypsyncing to and film it to showcase on Zoom or Hangouts. Choose an appropriate song and rehearse. Points for good lypsyncing and presentation skills also originality.

If you want to practice using a decent microphone and Karaoke set up, I have used many in my time and I’ve made a link to a system which works really well for amateurs and those who love singing at home here.

TIC Toc Dancé

Have students dance to selected Tic Tok sets. Its modern fun and relevant!!, not to mention extremely popular.

Learn a Foreign Song or Dance

Students can research foreign songs or dances to practice at home. They can learn a new song, acapella or find the chords and song with a keyboard, guitar or musical instruments. Learn how to acapella songs with this book

It’s always fun learning different cultures songs and presenting them to a new audience.

Recite a Famous Speech

As the title suggests, students can research famous politicians, speakers, orators and recite them word for word with their own performance. Of course you’d put guidelines and not accept orators such as Hitler etc.

But having people like Robert F Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama or even a female Prime Minister such as Jacinda Adern. Memorize the speech and deliver it with confidence.

Stand Up Comedy

Students can write a funny script or re-deliver a famous comedians routine (minus the swearing and sexual innuendo). The audience may not know you have memorized someone else’s routine especially if there are no stakes high school talent show.

Juggling Act

It’s relatively easy to start juggling, but if you want to impress, learn some fun extra tricks as well. Juggle more than sand balls. Enjoy your act and preform with a lot of hoopla.

Play a Musical Instruments

Students may have been learning to play a musical instruments for a few years and have learned some awesome skills. Put together a routine, it could be a medley and play it online in the virtual talent show.

Guitars, flute, saxophone, piano and all easy to showcase online. Most students will have access to their instruments and if they are on lockdown, they may have a lot more time to play their instruments.

Monologues

Of course monologues are a great way to show acting talent. There are some great Shakespearean monologues to choose from and also contemporary monologues to find here. You can also purchase monologues for yourself here on Amazon.

Science Showcase

Your student should have the proper equipment and items needed to showcase a great scientific experiment. there is nothing better than mini explosions and bubbling fun. This should be a great winner with other students and teachers a like.

You can order a science kit for your talent show Learn & Climb Kids Science Kit – Over 60 Experiments, Fun with Science!

” target=”_blank”>here from Amazon.

Improv a Story

Ask your audience online to give you a scene, scenario, theme and problem in the story. The improv actor can use the ideas and weave them into an idea and present as they go. They can write down the ideas on paper and pick at random ideas as they talk about their story.

Teacher a lesson

Students can choose a lesson to teach for great learning. It could be social science facts and examples shown. Make students twist their tongues and see who can curl it and who can’t. Research for some good ideas.

Make a Video

Use your family members to help star and crew for a video. Students can write a song and have their family members to star in them. Good editing will help students showcase all their talents.

Write a Parody

Everyone loves a good parody of famous songs. Use the backing track from Youtube download and re-write a song which is a play on the original. Have fun showcasing live or make a video recording of the song. Enjoy.

Use Extended Vocabulary in fun Ways

Recite 10-15 sentences using the most ridiculously complicated words in an extended paragraph. Showcase your ability to articulate and use complicated words in a sentence. You’ll be surprised at show wonderful some students will sound.

Verbal Tricks

There are a number or verbal tricks and clever riddles that can be told in a fun way. Have students research complex riddles to showcase. But the trick is to give a confidence performance for your virtual online talent. Check out a great book for kids who want some good ideas for jokes and riddles to verbalise to their family and then for the talent show.

A great book I recommend to get students and adults into writing parodies, jokes and riddles is this book, which will surprise and satisfy your performing arts journey.

Making Fun Balloon Animals

Like you get in a circus or a fun fair, buy some long balloons and rehearse making a variety of balloon animals or items. Make it into a routine and enjoy showcasing this on your virtual talent show.

Conclusion

A virtual talent show is so much fun to organise and produce from an organizers point of view. But it is even more fun coming from the performers point of view.

These performance ideas are just skimming the surface. You can choose some or all of these ideas to share with students. Students love being challenged and having a choice. They also need to feel safe performing online.

But once they are organized and ready to perform, you’ll be surprised at how amazing their talent shines.