As the curtain closes on Spring Sing 2015, preparations for next year are already in the works. Social clubs are now required to select Spring Sing directors this semester in time for a directors’ retreat April 17 and 18.
Spring Sing producer Cindee Stockstill said the motivation behind this change was to allow the clubs more time to plan ahead and cut back on stress in the early stages of their shows. Stockstill said the timing of next year’s show was also a factor in the producers’ decision to change things up.
“We want to get a jump start on all of the pre-production work that is involved in Spring Sing,” Stockstill said. “Normally we don’t start working until September, but since Spring Sing is so early next year and because I am going to be gone on an international program in the fall, we are test-piloting this new approach to see if it will work on a long-term basis.”
The director’s retreat will take place at Stockstill’s home. Students will discuss themes and make decisions about which clubs they will team up with for next year.
“We are going to be working on (themes) that weekend: they do not have to have that decided beforehand,” Stockstill said. “We will be working on what makes a good theme, and we will be teaching them things that hopefully they can then use to pick a theme before they leave for summer.”
Stockstill said the new timeline will allow students to begin planning specifics such as song selection over the summer, which will put them three to four months ahead of schedule and give them more time to consider which songs and lyrics they would like to use. By the end of the retreat, she said she hopes the clubs will have chosen their performance groups and each narrowed down their top three themes.
Sophomore Micaleigh Coleman is one of this year’s Spring Sing directors for Delta Nu, who chose to perform their show alone. Coleman said she and her co-director sophomore Emily Ann Braziel feel the retreat will curb creativity rather than inspire it.
“Emily Ann and I like the director process as is,” Coleman said. “We enjoyed how student led it was and how the directors have to learn how to make contacts, organize their shows and come up with themes and a storyline on their own.”
Sophomore Omega Phi Spring Sing director Aaron Young said he thinks the new method will be helpful.
“I think that the new deadline for choosing Spring Sing directors doesn’t heavily effect the selection process,” Young said. “Throughout the Spring Sing rehearsals, it becomes obvious to the directors who in the show has the creativity and drive to potentially step up as a director next year. I think that the retreat with Steve and Cindee will help next year’s directors in a really big way. It will give the new directors a direction to focus their creativity, as well as a stronger base to build their show on.”
Sophomore Chi Omega Pi Spring Sing director Kayla Gafford agreed that the retreat and early start will work wonders for the Spring Sing process.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Gafford said. “It will be good to start earlier preparing things and coming up with ideas. I like the idea because we can mentor them and explain how things work so they aren’t completely lost. Cindee and Steve work wonders and their advice is gold.”
Stockstill said she is hopeful the new schedule will benefit students and that they will be pleased with the way it turns out.
“I can’t imagine why they would not want to get started earlier to have time to think about it and not feel so rushed,” Stockstill said. “Hopefully this will take some of the time pressure off of them in the fall so that it won’t be as stressful for them.”
