Sing Song rehearsals will be extended into December to combat a lack of time between the beginning of the spring semester and opening night.
The spring semester will begin Jan. 12, and opening night of Sing Song is scheduled for Feb. 12. With only one month to rehearse, Tom Craig , director of student activities and productions, and the rest of the Sing Song committee decided to allow extra time for acts to practice beforehand.
In the past, acts have had five to six weeks to rehearse once they got back from winter break. However, due to the shortened time of only four weeks, rehearsals are set to run from Dec. 5-8.
“One of the main reasons this call was made was because of the way the calendar is falling this year,” said Ashley Crisp, Sing Song co-chair. “We wanted to give groups a little more time to make up for what they are losing in the spring.”
Crisp, senior speech pathology major from Dallas, has participated in Sing Song acts and the production team since her freshman year. She said she looks forward every year to seeing how the shows come together.
“I think this has the potential to be beneficial,” Crisp said. “It gives you the opportunity to go into Christmas break with a basic knowledge of your act, so the whole act can be a little prepared when they come back.”
During the four days acts are allowed to rehearse, each act is allotted a single, two-hour rehearsal. In addition to December rehearsals, acts can begin rehearsing before school begins Jan. 10.
“Because of this, we can put on the same caliber show that we have been able to in past years, even with less time,” said Zeke Morgan, upstage co-chair.
Morgan, senior psychology major from Keller, served as an upstage co-chair last year and worked on the upstage production team his freshman year. He said his job puts him in charge of organizing and leading all the class and club acts.
“This ranges from organizing a rotation schedule and places in the gyms during show week to making sure everyone meets deadlines for things like their music and lyrics,” Morgan said. “It’s a really fun job, even though it can be incredibly stressful.”
Whether rehearsal extensions will be implemented next year is still unsure.
“It’s a conversation to be had for sure,” Morgan said. “The calendar may not dictate it in years to come, but if we allow the clubs and classes more time to master their music, the show can only go up from there.”
