The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 36, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 12, 1997 Page: 3 of 6
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The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
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Page 3 Wednesday Feb. 12 1997
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The People Behind
The Incredible JourneyV
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Watch out below
(Far left) Hostess Becky Little junior music educa-
tion major from Toano Va.' Sarah Rice junior
nursing major from Toano Va; and host Chris
Smith junior youth and family ministry major from
San Antonio; stand on the Sing Song stage. Jamie
Leland senior ministry major from Virginia Beach
Va. checks the underside of the stage for safety.
Naptime
(Above) Sing Song co-director John Hanson senior
biology major from Abilene restson the floor of '
Moody Coliseum during Moody Weekend Friday. '
Finding rest anywhere
(Left) Stage manager Julia Johnson sophomore
English from Houston finds a moment df rest on
chairs in Moody Coliseum.
Text By Rebecca Wilson and Jutta Reutter
Chief Copy Editor and Student Reporter
Photos By Tony Bedard
Staff Photographer
Page Design By Tiffany Kondrup
Managing News Editor
Behind-the-scenes staff put Sing Song together keep it running
At 11:30 p.m. the circular concourse of Moody
Coliseum was dark quiet and empty except for
a heaped pile of jackets coats and backpacks.
The silence was broken by feminine voices
" singing In unison.
' "1 want my Datmoblle" the voices crooned.
th ifcmna n.immn women's social club was prac
ticing a song from lis program the theme of which
1 is Batman and Robin.
Moody Weekend the traditional all-night re-
Jicarsal for Sing Song was In Its fifth hour Friday
jifght for the Sing Song production staff. Sing Song
Itseirwas six days 20 hours and 30 minutes away.
Each year the clubs the classes and the choreog-
raphy evoke lavish praise Horn all who attend the
' annual production. However little Is said of the
people who make the show possible.
The production staff which lias named itself the
" "The Incredible Production Staff of 1997" after the
Sing Song theme "The Incredible Journey" Is com-
prised of more than 40 students who committed
their time and talent.to produce a quality show.
Sing Song director LelghAnn McNlel director of
student entertainment is In charge of the entire
''production.
' Directly below her are co-directors John Hanson
senior biology major from Abilene and Melissa
'Fisher senior physical education major from Falls
.' These three choose the upstage and downstage
managers who divide duties into two parts. Other
' production members interview with director co-
'directors upstage and downstage managers.
The structure of the Sing Song production staff is
a hierarchy in which each member oversees a num-'-ber
of people. The number of people a production
member supervises Increases the higher up the
member is in the hierarchy.
i Hanson said he wanted to be as Involved in Sing
'Song as possible his senior year.
"Since I only have one year left 1 was like Id
better go as far as 1 can" Hanson said.
- Upstage manager Jill Schaefer said 1 just thought
it'd be a great opportunity great experience because
you're in charge of a bunch of different groups. 1
want to go into some kind of business so it helps
out to let people know that you have been able to
be in charge of things."
Downstage manager Rachel Gartner said "I'm
just one of those behind-the-scenes kind of people.
They are all hard
workers. We have an
amazing tech crew
that doesn't get very
much credit but they
do a great job.
1 always likq to be back there making sure every-
thing is going right but not actually having to get
up and do it myself."
Schaefer senior Interdisciplinary studies major
from Stonchedge oversees all class and club acts.
Schaefer must submit song lyrics and costume ideas
to the deans for approval. The upstage manager
approves backdrops and hand props and she
records all log in times for act rehearsals to ensure
time limits are observed.
Gartner Junior business administration and inter-
national studies from Manchester Mo. is in charge
of host and hostess managers house managers
freshman ushers and anyone else who works down-
stage. Gartner must attend all practices of those she
supervises ensure that lyrics and choreography are
learned and make certajn the people slie oversees
know what to do. .
House manager Sandra Morse junior psychology
major from Houston is in charge of many jobs that
might otherwise be overlooked. For example
Morse numbers audience seats blacks the windows
with paper and organizes the freshmen ushers.
Also house managers supervise backstage activity
during performances.
"Pretty much the stage managers take people to
house managers and they Jake them from there" Gar-
tner said. "House managers keep everybody coming
and going."
Host and hostess manager DJ. Lopez senior
music education major from San Antonio is in
charge of anything related to the hosts and host-
esses and must be present at all of their rehearsals.
The publicity CTew creates the program which
includes taking pictures and compiling die infor-
mation included in the program. The crew also cre-
ated public service announcements which air on
KEAN-FM.
Several members of the producdon staff believe
the crew deserves credit it is not often given.
Gartner said "There arc so many people and I'm
not talking about myself who work especially the
tech crew. They are so talented and they get no
credit..! JMSOyish they could get some recognition
that people "cfaiild see all the people who work on
Sing Song not Just the people on stage."
Hanson 8ald "They're all hard workers. We have
on amafc&tg tech crew that doesn't get very much
crcdlt.'But they do a great job."
Gartner explained the reason for the number of
prorlucddn staff members.
"You get more people Involved; you have more
creativity" Gartner s.ald. "The more delegation the
better the show."
Tessle Ellis stage manager and junior public rela-
tions major from Rocksprings recognized the popu-
larity and Importance of Sing Song and decided to
participate for the first time this year out of curiosity.
"1 think Sing Song is about energy and clubs and
Ecople In clubs getting closer Its a feeling of
elonglng" she salds
Each stage manager is in charge of two groups.
Their tasks include getting acts on and off stage at
the right time and acting as liaison between the
group and the director. .;
Another stage manager Amy Lebus junior biolo
gy major from Longvicw said the emphasis this
year is on putting on a good show. Lebus is also in
a club and she said being on the production staff"
and in the show was about ""making memories
building club pride and performing which I love"'
Precious little was the amount of sleep the partic-
ipants of Moody Weekend seemed dcsUned tt
get. Inside the coliseum the air crackled with high;
excitement and nervous energy. It was after mkft
night between performances when production staff
members took a few minutes to relax.
Brooke Johnson a GATA member and head chil'-.
drens manager said her dual role in Sing Song takes-
up most of her free time.
"Its hard work but it really is worth it" she said.
Johnson sophomore elementary education major
volunteered to be head chlldrens manager "to work
with the kids because I love children; they make me
smile" she said.
The children are from Taylor and Abilene Chris-
tian elementary schools. The song they are singing
is called "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon."
Johnson admitted it is sometimes challenging to
get the first-graders to focus on their performance;
naturally they would rather play.
"But I love seeing their faces when they're doing
their choreography and singing their words real
loud"shc said.
Another production staff member is Joey Roberts
sophomore public relations major from Abilene. He
works two production staff positions judges man-
ager and technical crew member the latter of which
requires much time and effort.
He said he has learned time management and peo-
ple skills and he has grown closer to other
Christians.
Ellis described the experience best: "Its Just fun to
bring a group of talented individuals together to
work toward one common goal of having a really
terrific show. Thatfc just exciting."
' . -
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 36, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 12, 1997, newspaper, February 12, 1997; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99724/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.