Rehearsals have begun for the 66th annual production of Sing Song for both club and class acts. Sing Song will begin at 8 p.m. at the Taylor County Expo Center on Friday, April 1 and will have performances on April 2.
Due to the delay of the renovation of Moody Coliseum, this year’s production will be off campus for the second year in a row. Last year, Sing Song took place at the Paramount Theater with only two fraternities and three sororities competing while the class acts remained the same apart from the sophomore act. This year’s production is back to normal and features five class acts and ten club acts.
Riley Fisher, a senior theater major from Abilene, is a Student Director for this year’s show. As well as being a Student Director, Fisher will be directing the senior act and competing with the men of Frater Sodalis who are looking to win the men’s division for the third straight year.
“I’m excited to return to a normally formatted show, as a participant and also as a leader,” Fisher said. “I was glad we got to have a show at all last year, but I don’t think we were able to do the traditional Sing Song justice, especially on an anniversary year. I’m glad we have an opportunity to do a bigger production this year even though we’re off campus.”
William Grandell, a junior nursing major from Carrollton, is the Gamma Sigma Phi Sing Song Director. Grandell was in the Freshman Penguins act in 2020. Grandell will be leading 38 Gammas as janitors for their act this year. Grandell and the janitors are rehearsing for three hours twice a week up until the show in April. GSP hasn’t won the men’s division since 2018 after sitting out of last year’s Sing Song.
“My goal is to win and make sure the men of GSP have a good time,” Grandell. “I love these guys and I’m excited for the opportunity for a potential victory.”
Leading the sorority of Ko Jo Kai is Morgen Maltby, a senior accounting major from New Braunfels. Maltby directed the juniors act last year, was a section leader in her sophomore act and participated in her freshman act. There will be 96 Kojies as tooth fairies under Maltby’s direction for their act this year. The tooth fairies are rehearsing for three hours three times a week up until the show in April. KJK has not lost the women’s division of Sing Song since 2017 when GATA won.
“Something I want to continue in practice is teaching people a little bit of basic facts about music,” Maltby said. “So that they leave not just feeling like, ‘I barely made it, I felt like I was drowning, I don’t understand,’ but now they understand what a music note is or a music rest or this means to hold it longer. I want to make them feel like they not only had fun but they also learned a lot through it.”
Sing Song takes place at the Taylor County Expo Center due to the delay of the renovation of Moody Coliseum. The show starts on Friday, Apr. 1 at 8 p.m. with two shows on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“I want students to not expect Sing Song to be a lot different or a lot worse or not what they’re used to because it’s actually going to be closer to normal for the future,” Maltby said. “In the meetings we’ve had with directors we’re getting to hear about the way that Moody is being constructed and renovated. It’s actually moving toward what the Taylor County Expo Center currently looks like. This year even though we’re in a different location it’s the start of a new normal and for people to look forward to that instead of being disappointed.”
