This article was first published in January 2002. It is from the third issue of the seventeenth volume of The Classic. This article was chosen as the 2025 S!NG season has just ended.
SING! highlights grade unity, New York City Spirit
As ninth band comes to an end, you descend down the stairs into the main lobby. Suddenly, you hear a mix of different songs and see your fellow classmates perfecting various dance moves.
All these signs can only point to one thing: the arrival of the third annual SING!
SING! will be held in the auditorium from January 31 to February 2. The first show will be a dress rehearsal where the three groups, the seniors, the juniors, and the sophmen (a combination of freshmen and sophomores) will work out any kinks and put final touches on their self-produced shows. The dress rehearsal will be from 3-6 PM and is free of charge. Co-commissioner Jenna Sangastiano, senior, warns, however, that it won’t be “as good as the others.” The other two shows will both begin at 6 PM and end at 9 PM. Tickets cost four dollars and will be sold at the Student Union store and by SING! cast members. If tickets still remain, they may be purchased at the door.
In light of the World Trade Center incident, this year’s theme is New York.
“The topic was more free form. The producers and everyone involved… weren’t hindered by the theme; instead they could build on it and expand,” said Jenna.
The directors all stayed away from the actual event; instead they focused on the comical aspects of being a New Yorker. They manipulated funny stereotypes that marked a “true New Yorker” in hopes of giving the audience a time to relax and have a laugh. “It’s harder to have fun these days, but people are ready to mové on and look on the posi-live side of things and show appreciation for New York City and the people in it,” said Co-commissioner Meghan Gill, senior.
Across the board, the directors agreed that the highlight of SING! will be the dance numbers and the songs.
“You’re going to see some great dance numbers, songs and lines that show our pride and how proud we are to be living in the greatest city in the world,” said sophmen director Margo Kakoullis.
SING! is a mini-competition, a battle of the grades. The directors and cast members are quite secretive about their plots and storylines. However, it is not as cutthroat as it seems. “Everyone wants to win, you want to see your grade win, but we try not to take it so personally and try and have fun!” said Margo.
Senior co-director Stephanie Kujawski also commented on the nature of SING!: “[SING!] definitely shows school spirit. You want to support your grade because it’s a competition. It shows the talent the people in your grade have. SING! really brings groups of people together who are usually in cliques. Drawing from all groups of people from the grade to perform shows everyone what you’re made of.”
SING! is an event that depends on high participation by all the classes. “It’s entirely student run: done by the students, for the students,” said Jenna.
