This year’s Sing Song student directors have diligently been at work alongside the Courtney McGaha, director of student productions, in their preparation for this year’s production.

“Student Directors are hired each year to lead the production team and help me run the production the week of the show,” McGaha said. “Each student director leads their own area of the production, including upstage, downstage, business and operations. Each one has different duties depending on their position.”

Upstage refers to the club and class acts, and downstage includes the hosts and hostesses and the dance teams that perform. Business operations include tickets, merchandise sales and advertising, and operations covers house responsibilities, judges and more.)

To become a Sing Song student director, student leaders are chosen through an interview process based on their Sing Song and leadership experience and who McGaha believes can most efficiently help run the show. The Sing Song directors this year are:

• Caroline McKnight, senior corporate and nonprofit communication major from Pittsburg, Kansas 
• Sam Onstead, senior finance and accounting major from Sugar Land
• Taylor Watson, senior psychology major from San Antonio 
• Eboni Wescott, senior communication major from Dallas 
• Jake Wewe, sophomore engineering major from Austin 

McKnight said her goal as a Sing Song leader has been to make the experience as fun and stress-free for students as possible. 

“My main goal as a student director is to lead my team successfully and efficiently to deliver a unique Sing Song experience for the participants and alumni judges,” McKnight said. “I also strive to be a safe place and neutral zone for my team of underclassmen. We all know college is not easy. Specifically, juggling responsibilities for a large student-led event, school, work and personal life can be a lot. I never want Sing Song to be a source of severe anxiety. That would defeat the purpose of why I am in this leadership position.”

The Sing Song student director position requires students to attend weekly meetings with the other student directors. These directors conduct interviews for the student leadership team as well as search for judges via the alumni database. All of these factors are taken seriously so the experience will be enjoyable for everyone. 

“I hope all the participants (1) have a great time, (2) enjoy being present in every moment good or bad, (3) remember that being open to the friendships and challenges Sing Song offers is all part of the process,” McKnight said. “ I just want to urge everyone to keep Sing Song in perspective. It can be such a hectic and busy season of life. Don’t get wrapped up in unnecessary worry or drama. Your mental health is not worth sacrificing for something as fleeting as Sing Song.”

With so much effort going into Sing Song, the crew hopes that attendees and participants will take something away from the production.

Onstead said he hopes Sing Song provides joy for others. 

“My favorite thing about Sing Song is the community aspect,” Onstead said. “There is nothing more special at ACU than when we are all in a community together. As we approach finals, the end of another year and graduation for some, it feels like there is so much stress and anxiety in the air. I hope that for many of our students, watching the show gives them an opportunity to escape that stress for a bit.”