Spring Sing cultivates connections within the Harding community, and those relationships are one thing that makes the production special for junior Weston Eades.
Eades, one of last year’s hosts, said he wanted to audition for host again because he loves seeing families and alumni reuniting at Spring Sing, including both sides of his family. Preparing and rehearsing for the production also creates and strengthens relationships among participating students.
“[Spring Sing 2024] was one of the best performance experiences I’ve had,” Eades said. “You make such good friends when you spend countless hours with people when you’re under pressure.”
This environment is consistent in activities around campus, but especially in Harding’s theatre productions. Eades said one of his best friends, sophomore Isaac Linnett, is also a host, and they have participated in Pied Pipers together this year as well.
“My first thought was how excited I was that me and Isaac both got it,” Eades said. “Me and Isaac had worked on our audition pieces for three weeks together… so that was the most rewarding part, was getting to see our work together paying off.”
The importance of relationships in Spring Sing’s culture is also incorporated in Eades’ feature song, “If I Can Dream,” by Elvis Presley. Eades said the original idea for his song was to have a group on stage behind him with differences among the members, whether that be age, occupation, race or gender. The final decision was to tie in a little bit of Harding and have the ensemble wear club jerseys and have various social clubs represented in the number.
“I think the message is as relevant as ever,” Eades said. “Elvis wrote it with race relations in mind, and that topic exists, along with all different types of people coming together. One [message] is looking towards heaven, when we’ll all be together without any conflict, but also looking, dreaming, towards a time now when we can find a space of mind to show everyone love despite any difference.”
