Photo by Edgar Cardiel
Freshman Rachel Sims has been involved in theatre and dance for 12 years, completing her first audition at 8 years old. She participated in community theatre growing up and was frequently in the children’s chorus of adult productions before starting at Christian Youth Theater in Dallas.
“I graduated high school and was like, I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Sims said. ‘My director recommended I pursue theatre in college, and then I had a friend who had toured Harding.”
Sims decided to attend Harding and immediately got involved in the theatre productions, performing in “Tuck Everlasting,” “Taming of the Shrew” and now Spring Sing. Sims said she wanted to just be part of the Spring Sing production and decided to audition for hostess to get her foot in the door.
“I think I was the only girl freshman called back, and it was a complete and utter shock,” Sims said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m definitely not supposed to be here.’ I was utterly terrified, but I sort of just kept in mind this thing that a lot of directors will tell you… just see every audition as your one and only opportunity to play this character.”
Sims’ only Spring Sing experience was visiting Harding last spring to watch the anniversary show. She said being involved with Spring Sing has similar elements to past productions she has performed in.
“I grew up doing the Nutcracker when I was younger, and so I know the feeling of putting on the same show and carrying on a tradition,” Sims said. “There are things about it that are uniquely Spring Sing and uniquely Harding. But then there are also some things that are just like very familiar to me, and I love the combination of it, because it’s like an entry point where it’s comfortable for me because I recognize it. But then once I get there, there’s so much to learn from because I’ve never seen anything like this.”
