Varieties will be hosting their finals this Friday and Saturday night in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. Four mini-musicals and four vignettes will be performing for the chance to win.

Varieties has been around for 87 years, yet the heart of the show has remained to same, according to “The Final Rose” co-chair Kaitlin Hora.

“It is one of those things that has stayed true to the Iowa State greek system. It hasn’t really changed very much. There have been other traditions that stayed, but they change from year to year, and this is one of the things that has stayed the same,” Hora said. She remembers her mother participating in Varieties as well as her sister.

Having worked with Varieties since her freshman year, Hora has had many favorite aspects of Varieties. From the multitudes of friends to the replaced lyrics of popular songs sung by those in the show, there is one aspect about Hora’s experience this year that is her favorite. She now has the opportunity to lead the pairing with her older sister.

“[It’s] really fun to be able to have that experience, to do something that I love with my older sister. And then my younger sister is also in the same house as I am … It is really fun to pull the family aspect together,” Hora said.

Working with Varieties is not always easy, according to Alyssa Klahsen, the director of Varieties. There are so many different pieces that go into making a show this challenging. There are so many moving parts that go into the show.

“Sometimes you just lose that [big picture thinking],” Klahsen said. Hora and Klahsen also brought up the difficulties of getting so many minds focused on one goal and working together.

For Klahsen, the work pays off when she gets to see the progression of the performances. Her favorite part of seeing the difference between the acts in November to the finals this weekend.

“[It’s] really rewarding to know that your hard work is impacting someone. It is really making their performance come to life, and making them continue that love of being on stage,” Klahsen said.

Both Klahsen and Hora were involved in similar performances in high school that moved them to become a part of Varieties in the first place. Klahsen participated in show choir, which lead her to Varieties. Hora was a dancer drawn in by the possibility of dancing on stage once again. Now both are leaders, not performers, but neither regret this change.

“I miss the performing aspect of the skits and Varieties, but it has definitely been fun to kind of learn the behind the scenes,” Klahsen said. “I didn’t even realize all the things that come together that make this performance happen. So again, it has been a lot of fun [organizing that tradition.]”

Hora had a similar sentiment when she said, “I definitely have a better perspective of what is going on on stage versus when I am up there in the midst of all of the commotion. I don’t really have a true vision of what is happening. It is nice to be able to just sit back and watch it and be able to go through what needs to be worked on.”

While these two women have grown in their love of Varieties since their freshman year, each has their own experiences in the show, but each share the dedication to one of Iowa State’s oldest traditions that combines the greek and non-greek communities.

Varieties finals will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in the Great Hall. Tickets are $8 with a student ID and $14 for the public. 

Tickets can be purchased at the door or online via Midwestix.