Jenna Rodriguez is a junior in Desert Mountain, but is graduating with the Class of 2020. Her favorite color is pink and she loves to play ukulele. Jenna performed all 3 nights. On Wednesday night, Rodriguez played Still Into You, with Isabella Knowles and Andrew Pena, and La Vie En Rose on Stage 2. On Thursday night, she performed You’ve Got A Friend in Me with Kyle Moomjian, a senior at Desert Mountain, and Bellyache with Nikita Anand, on Stage 1, and Out of my Head, with Nikita Anand and Madison Moore, on Stage 2. On Friday night, Too Close, with Annie Angle, and Tell Me How on Stage 3/4 was her last performances for the year.

Jenna’s reason for performing: “My freshman year in Choir, I performed 5 songs at Coffee House. Then the next year, I thought ‘I could top that’, so then I played 6 songs. So this year I have to top that as well, so this year I’m playing 7 songs, which is definitely a lot, but I was determined to top it, so I did. For group songs, we typically picked songs that had meaning to us. So, for example, I did a duet with my long time best friend Isabelle, and we did a Paramore song, because last year we did a paramore song, and our friendship sort of formed over our mutual love for the band itself. But, for my solo songs, I picked songs that meant a lot to me for a really long time. The song I’m doing on Friday means a lot to me, emotional, through the lyrics, from all the friendships I made and lost in high school.”

Jenna’s advice for others wanting to audition for Coffee House: “Be confident in yourself, everytime that has come in has so much talent and so much potential, but if they are nervous or don’t believe in themselves, they don’t end up doing as well as they definitely could. So, be proud of yourself and put work on stage that you are proud to create.”

Kyle’s advice for others wanting to audition for Coffee House: “Just do it, it’s a really good experience, there’s nothing to lose, it’s so much fun.”