Just two weeks before the kickoff of the 2026 S!NG season, the new Freshior directors are preparing for their first year of leading the production and reflecting on their goals for the coming season.
At the end of last S!NG season, the outgoing Semores overall directors selected rising juniors Madilyn Mercado and Stella Hwang to serve as the Freshiors Overall Directors for the 2026 season. During the spring 2025 semester, the new directors and their team spoke to The Classic about their plans for this fall.
“My plans? To win, of course,” Madilyn said, “but most importantly, to have fun and make new memories with people. Win or lose, I will do my best to give everyone the same memorable experience I’ve had with S!NG for the past two years.”
Rising junior Stephanie Lin, one of three upcoming vocal directors, shared a similar sentiment. “Me and my fellow vocal directors plan to create an environment where everyone is comfortable and pushes each other to do better,” she said. “The feeling of working together toward a common goal and hopefully accomplishing it is a great feeling we wish to bring to people in S!NG.”
Rising junior and Social Media and Communications Director Amy Huynh said that in the future she wants to “do silly TikTok trends to promote S!NG” and she would also “like to see the freshmen get involved and create amazing memories.”
For several of the new directors, such as Backstage Director and rising junior Julian Kleinmuntz, this past S!NG season was his first. “I never really thought that my goals of getting [the director position] were realistic,” Julian said, “but the previous directors saw something in me and so they reached out and offered me the job.”
Rising junior Sunny Chen, one of the upcoming Band Directors, recalled feeling extremely nervous on the day of the final S!NG meeting. After rising juniors Lucas Wu and Annika Weinberger, she was the third and final band director to be called. “I was scared that the last person wouldn’t be me, but when [they] called my name, my mind went blank. I just started crying,” she said. ”I’m so excited for S!NG to start, and I can’t wait to participate in it once again, this time as a director.”
For those that are willing to push themselves and wish to strive for leadership positions in the schoolwide competition, the directors shared some of their own wisdom as well. Rising junior Livia Zhao, a new Art Director, said, “If you show up every day and just bring a positive atmosphere, directors will definitely take note of your commitment.”
Stephanie said, “Have confidence in yourself and just try to have fun. Enjoy the experience S!NG brings and find your motivation to work toward getting a leadership position.”
Dance Director and rising junior Vanessa Lee said, “I want the freshmen to know that S!NG is truly a great way to assimilate into high school and get the most out of your time here. The workload and pressure can be stressful here and S!NG can help [you handle] those pressures by having some more fun and getting involved in THHS. Even if you don’t have much experience in dance, you are still welcome to join the dance department or any other department you may be interested in. ”
Madilyn said that during her first year of S!NG, she initially had not planned on joining it. “When I came to the club fair in my freshman year, I remember seeing S!NG and thinking to myself, ‘That doesn’t sound too interesting, plus, I’m not cut out for theater.’ I ended up going to auditions anyway.” Since then, she has not looked back.
