Theater student places second in state air-guitar competition

December 3, 2025

By Laura Southers

Staff Writer

Orion Moss learned how to portray an air-guitar competitor while acting in the college’s spring 2025 play “Airness.” Moss decided to perform in the state’s air-guitar competition in June, which was held just a week after the theater production closed. He performed “Crowd Chant” by Joe Satriani, which was the song he performed in “Airness.”

Moss placed second in Oregon and was invited to perform in San Francisco’s Dark Horse contest. Allison Moon, instructor in the Theatre Arts program, said in an email, “It didn’t surprise me that Orion placed. He’s incredibly talented and embodies the ethos of air guitar: commitment, passion and raw joy.”

Before Moss began to pursue the art of air-guitar competitions, he was not at all familiar with the scene. In SanFrancisco he discovered the competitors are “really excited to have younger people, because most of the people competing are in their forties.” 

Moss, at the age of 21, is trying to help pave the way for the younger generation to compete in these events.

Moss said that competing in air-guitar is more “nerve racking” than theater performances.  “When I am nervous on stage, I tend to get a bit manic and move more quickly which works pretty well for air-guitar because it’s high energy,” he said.

Moss is from Vashon Island, Washington, the largest island in the Puget Sound. He moved to Oregon four years ago. The two years he has been at the college have been in pursuit of a general education degree, but “mostly focusing on theater.”

Moss directed a one-act for the student performance showcase in November, but he’s still thinking about a future in air guitar. “I’m going to try to make it to nationals next year,” he said.