Written by Whitney L Dixon
WithSpring Singfast approaching, many students are not aware of a club director’s responsibilities, with many having worked on her club’s show for a year by the time the curtain goes up for Spring Sing 2010.
“I’ve been working on this since last April,” Melissa Fabry, director of Chi Omega Pi’s show, said.
According to Fabry, spring semester last year was spent getting to know fellow directors and figuring out a theme. The summer months were spent researching and writing the plot and the script, and the fall semester was filled with writing the music and lyrics and planning all the designs.
Fabry, who is in charge of the visual aspects of the Chi Omega Pi and Delta Gamma Rho Spring Sing show, said that designs include everything from costumes, staging, props and the LCD screen behind the performers.
“[I even] planned out practices, like what’s going to get done when,” Fabry said.
Choreography and staging was finished during Christmas break, and the lyrics were perfected as well, according to Fabry.Also in the fall, all Spring Sing directors begin meeting weekly withDr. Steve Fryeand Cindee Stockstill, the directors of Spring Sing.
According to Frye, these meetings are intended to provide the equivalent of a Theatre 101 course for the directors, enabling them to produce a short theatrical production in a professional and effective manner. These meetings continue into the spring semester, when things start to get really hectic, he said.
Spring semester is when choreography and staging is polished. According to Fabry, the process of pulling the entire show together is “painstakingly slow.”
“At least two hours go into every one hour of practice,” Fabry said.
A typical practice demonstrates the extent of a director’s concern and responsibilities. Not only do the directors have to deal with the more obvious concerns of the overall show, they also have to manage effectively a large group of their peers. Individuals continuously approach them with questions ranging from what to do about an ill-fitting costume to when the next practice will take place, according to Carson McGill, a sophomore Ensemble member and Chi Omega Pi and Delta Gamma Rho cast member.
“I think the way that they are running the show, it doesn’t show how stressed they really are,” McGill said. “They get so much accomplished with so much on their plates.”
Despite the stress, Fabry said the experience is a rewarding one, and she has enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know her peers better.
“Seeing something that you thought of sitting next to some random person in the library, and seeing it come to life is so rewarding,” Fabry said.
