Social clubs, hosts and hostesses have begun practicing for Spring Sing, following new guidelines than years past, in preparation for the shows on April 15-17.
Spring Sing is a major part of the culture and history at Harding. Spring Sing weekend typically brings students, faculty, prospective students and alumni together. Although the school planned to do its best to make Spring Sing happen in 2021, no one knew what it would look like or what it would take to put it together, after it was originally canceled in spring 2020.
“Spring Sing will relatively look the same from previous years, but instead of having 100 plus people on stage we will be limited to 36 at a time,” men’s social club Gamma Sigma Phi Director Eric Conner said. “Therefore, it will be the same type of magic, just a little bit less people. This year’s Spring Sing show of ‘Twice Upon a Time’ is going to be different — no doubt — but at the end of the day we are going to give it the same amount of entertainment as any other year before.”
Each club has already been working on their show for a year, since Spring Sing 2020 was unable to take place due to COVID-19. This means that directors had the option to continue to hold their positions or step down, allowing a new director to step in.
There was also the option to continue with the same theme from 2020 or choose a new theme.
“We are keeping the same theme from last year,” women’s social club Pi Theta Phi Director Hannah Hackworth said. “The major changes we are currently seeing are happening behind the scenes. The club directors have to be very intentional about who is on stage at what time, how they enter and exit the stage and how we conduct practices to ensure the safety of our cast.”
Hackworth said this year’s show should prove to be successful, as most clubs have been working on it longer than usual.
“Spring Sing 2021 will be the show to watch as the student directors have been creatively reworking their show,” Hackworth said. “I encourage all students to get excited about Spring Sing and to plan on being in attendance for this unique, [historic] show that is now over two years in the making.”
“We are excited to see this project out and finish what we started last year,” men’s social club TNT Director Ben Shearer said. “The plan is to have bigger and better video boards than we’ve seen before, so we plan on utilizing those for better graphics and virtual performers. I love Spring Sing for the community it provides and the way it brings people together regardless of any kind of performance skill. Despite the changes and restrictions added to this year’s show, I’m confident that this experience can be just as special for everyone involved. This show is two years in the making now, so you won’t want to miss it.”