(Photo by McKenzie Bonam)
Several acts will compete to add another win to some already impressive records.
The highest-scoring women’s club acts, men’s club acts and class acts will remake themes from throughout Sing Song history to produce what they hope will add to their records.
Co-directed by Elizabeth Elliot and Emily Duke, the women of Sigma Theta Chi are competing for their 21st all-time win with the theme of Mary Poppins.
Elliot, junior interdisciplinary studies major from Fort Worth, said the act was chosen because the club loved the magical aspect of the film and knew it would be a crowd-pleaser, both with its history and its sequel that recently hit theaters.
She said that although the original act didn’t win, the club was determined to recreate it into a winning act.
“We are really excited to get to remake this act,” Elliot said. “In comparison, I believe we made it better than it was before with our song choices, choreography, costumes and amazing set.”
Elliot said there was added pressure, not only when taking on such a big leadership role, but also when directing a group with such an impressive history.
“It’s all about working hard, giving it all you’ve got and having fun,” Elliot said. “That’s the ultimate goal toward accomplishing 21.”
Sigma Theta Chi has the highest winning record of women’s clubs at 20, one of which was a tie. They are tied with Gamma Sigma Phi for the third highest wins of any act.
“I am beyond impressed by all of the work these girls have put in to make it come to life,” Elliot said. “I could not have done any of this without their support and determination.”
The women of Ko Jo Kai have the second-highest record of all women’s clubs. Co-directed by Halle Magee and Hanna Roberts, the club is seeking its 19th win. One of its 18 previous wins was a tie.
Magee, senior biology major from Flower Mound, said the theme was chosen because it was fun and unique when performed by a group of only women.
“I liked building on the foundation of the act, but being able to make it our own with more funny moments and better contrast in the music,” Magee said. “I think our act is stronger than the original act for sure.”
Magee said the most important factor of a winning act is whether or not the participants in the act are invested in the process and the storyline.
“Any act can be sharp and sing the right notes, but I think an act will lose its luster and be less likely to win if the participants aren’t 100 percent committed to telling their story,” Magee said.
The women of Ko Jo Kai will take the audience on safari, performing a theme previously tackled by the junior class in 1999.
Magee said the club’s greatest rival will always be the club that wants it the most, creating intense competition.
“A win is never guaranteed,” Magee said. “We are turning our focus on keeping the girls in our act motivated and focused on all of the components we know make an act a winner.”
Magee said the Sing Song history of Ko Jo Kai gives the group fuel to work hard and make every year memorable.
“All we can do is leave everything we have on stage,” Magee said.
Of the men’s clubs, Galaxy has the most all-time wins at 26.
Chase Rogers, senior English teaching major from Arlington and Galaxy director, said the group is prepared for another win.
Galaxy will build on the lumberjack theme, performed by their members in 1994.
“In 1994, the lumberjacks swept,” Rogers said. “Our act capitalizes on the best parts of their act and combines it with our own material, jokes and songs.”
Rogers said he has wanted to direct Sing Song since his first time watching.
“There’s definitely pressure being the director for Galaxy,” Rogers said. “But the pressure comes with the gig no matter who you’re directing.”
Rogers said the men of Galaxy are using the judges’ critiques from the past two years to advance their act.
“Two years ago, Galaxy was ridiculously funny; last year Galaxy won vocals, but the act wasn’t entertaining enough,” Rogers said. “This year, we just really wanted to combine both to have it all come together to get number 27.”
Rogers said the Moonies are choosing not to focus on their record wins, but rather on the quality of the act.
“You can’t worry about the past or future when it comes to the record,” Rogers said. “You can only focus on the present.”
The men of Gamma Sigma Phi are looking to add to their overall record of 20 wins.
Weston Weast, junior music major from Edmond, Oklahoma, and GSP director, said the group is looking to achieve another win.
Despite not previously being a winning act, Weast believes the group has been working hard and preparing to achieve first place.
“If we take first place overall, we would officially conceal a winning streak,” Weast said. “Because of this, most guy clubs are coming out for blood.”
GSP will also reuse a theme originally performed by its own members in the recharter act of 1989 – Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
“This is a great way to recognize the alumni for creating and growing what GSP is today,” Weast said. “What better way to celebrate our 50th year of club than by redoing a year that amplified GSP back in the day?”
Weast said Galaxy traditionally is the club’s greatest competition; however, this year GSP has its eyes on the men of Frater Sodalis as well.
“I have high hopes for getting first place overall,” Weast said. “We have been working extremely hard to get where we want.”
Weast said this act will be one of the most entertaining of this year’s performances.
“This year asks for someone to be bold enough to win or lose at such high steaks,” Weast said. “Whatever happens, I am committed to making a fantastic act that wins the popularity vote.”
Of the class acts, the senior class, co-directed by Jadon Reynolds and Jamie Warren, will revive a theme from the winning act of 1986 – Adam and Eve.
Reynolds, senior Bible and ministry major from Fort Worth, said the act takes components from the original act and biblical story to create a fun act for the audience.
“Regardless of the outcome Saturday night, we feel we’ve done an awesome job fusing the origins of the original act with the culture we live in today,” Reynolds said. “The audience will thoroughly enjoy our production.”
The senior act currently sits at 13 wins.
Reynolds said he and Warren are trying to avoid the pressures of directing, and have fun with the act.
“In order to secure the bag this year, all we need to do is sing perfectly, not miss a single choreo move and fake smile really hard for 185 seconds,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said he and Warren are trying to avoid the pressures of directing, and have fun with the act.
“We’re expecting to be the most entertaining act all night,” Reynolds said. “Which should mean winning as well.”
The freshman class, often consisting of two acts, forms one of the most competitive Sing Song rivalries. If either freshman class act wins, they will secure the class’s 23rd win.
This year will also consist of two acts, both of which are prepared to fight for another win.
One freshman act, co-directed by Maggie Hess and Allison Skelton, will recycle the theme of the seven dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Hess, freshman education major from Lubbock and class director, said she and Skelton are excited to represent a class with so much history.
“If we want to win, every aspect of our act needs to be clean and impactful,” Hess said. “We are hopeful to live up to the freshman legacy.”
Hess said their act is very different from the original.
“Our act is mixed vocals and follows the plot line of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Hess said. “The original act was all male vocals and mainly featured songs from the movie, but didn’t follow the storyline.”
Hess said any class could be a competitive rival, since there is not much known about other acts prior to Moody Week.
“We have worked so hard and are definitely capable of making this act a great one,” Hess said. “Seeing it all come together is going to be the greatest reward. We can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve done.”
The other freshman class act, directed by Jackson Scott, freshman communications major from Keller, is recreating the theme of playing cards, originally performed by Alpha Theta Chi Omega in 1993.
Scott said he believes the group’s new version of the act is better than the original.
“I had a lot of creative freedom for this act and was able to make it my own,” Scott said. “I think it’s a huge improvement from the 1993 act.”
Scott said he is under a lot of pressure directing the freshman act based on their win record, especially after seeing the freshman class acts from last year.
“Our greatest rival is definitely the other freshman act,” Scott said. “They have a large group as well and they really want to win as well, plus the directors are both very talented and hardworking so they know what they’re doing.”
Scott said he believes the act is capable of grabbing another win for the class, if they continue to work hard.
“I believe we’ve put forth the effort to win this year, but I never want to say we are going to win for sure,” Scott said. “There’s always room to improve, but I definitely think we might win.”
Each club and class act will carry on the long-standing Sing Song tradition of intense rivalries as they compete to add to their records in Moody Coliseum.
