By Sarah Carlson, Arts Editor
With three weeks until showtime, the Sing Song production staff is hard at work building the main stage in Moody Coliseum, finalizing music arrangements and teaching the hosts and hostesses choreography.
“You name it, we’re doing it,” said Kendall Massey, director of student productions.
Massey said he can’t wait to reveal a few surprises in the show to the audience. One change he can mention is a giant video screen behind the Sing Song stage that can be used by each act as they see fit.
Additions to this year’s show, “Off the Charts,” is the International Students Association and Hispanos Unidos in the mixed voices category against the class acts, and Massey said both groups are excited.
“I’ve wanted them to do this for a while,” he said.
Most groups have been practicing their shows since the beginning of the semester, designing costumes and learning the arrangement of their act.
In previous years, various groups have won first place in the mixed voices category, but Gamma Sigma Phi and Sigma Theta Chi have dominated the men’s and women’s social club categories for the past three years.
However, Massey said he is glad to incorporate more groups into the event, and the goal should not be just about winning.
“The competition isn’t what makes a show good,” Massey said. “What makes a show good is how everyone works together.”
Katie Noah, junior English major from Midland, participated in Sing Song as a freshman but studied abroad in Oxford, England, during the spring semester of her sophomore year. This year, however, she said she is ready to give her class act another shot. Her parents and grandparents are coming into town, and her sister is participating in a club act, so she said she decided to join the junior class act, even if the class doesn’t take the task as seriously as other groups.
“I hope it’s going to be a good show,” Noah said. “The show overall is going to be great. The hosts and hostesses are all stellar-talented people, and I’ve heard some great things about other acts.”
David Chisholm, junior interdisciplinary major from Memphis, Tenn., also plans to join the junior class act. He said he didn’t participate in Sing Song his first two years at school out of laziness, but he decided to join the junior act this year because he heard it is going to be funny.
“I think it is going to be a big joke and not a lot of work,” Chisholm said.
Performances of Sing Song will be Feb.18 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 to $18 and can be purchased online at www.acusingsong.com.
