With interlocked hands and bowed heads, the Freshiors (a team of freshmen and juniors) and the Se’mores (sophomores and seniors) stood on opposite sides of the auditorium, waiting for the scores to be tallied. Within half a minute the spotlight shone on the Semores and they roared with elation.
The SING! 2012-2013 theme was developed by last year’s winning directors of Se’more SING! , Victoria Baamonde and Avalon Galioto. The Freshiors production was called “Laid Off” and the Semores production was “160 Hours.” Both had to begin and end with the same line and setting. The first line had to be “How was your eye exam yesterday?” spoken in a park. The final line had to be, “That’s not what your brother said,” spoken in a grocery store.
Directing for the first time, the juniors led the freshman through their debut performance. Co-director Nathaniel Cheng, junior, expressed the difficulty of directing the freshmen and juniors. He said, “One of the biggest struggles was getting my peers to listen to me and getting people to consistently come to practice. But over time it started to feel less awkward and more normal.”
Freshior co-director Anna St. Clair, junior, affirmed her partner’s feelings. She said, “Some challenges were getting everyone to work together. In the end I think we achieved that and that was one of our group’s strengths.”
The Se’mores, on the other hand, had more experience directing the production.
Catherine Moskos, senior, has directed SING! for the past two years. “Directing was definitely easier this year because I felt a little more prepared and was able to avoid problems that presented themselves last year.” She added, “This year’s SING! was a bit challenging because we had an incredible drive to win. We pushed ourselves harder than we ever did before. Thankfully we had a beyond amazing cast.”
Her co-directors, Ella Leviyeva and Gabriella Niyazov, seniors, were new to the role. Ella, senior, said, “Although it was my third year as a member of SING!, it was my first year as a director. All of a sudden I was responsible for so much more than I used to be. At first it was a weird transition, because for the past two years I would come to SING! and spend the entire rehearsal dancing. This year I had to split up my time in order to fulfill all of my responsibilities.”
Gabriella added, “A great show takes a lot of practice and time to evolve and reach its full potential. Every single person involved really has to give it their all, even if their role is small.”
Freshman Yuriy Markovetskiy, who played Ben in “Laid Off,” spoke about his first year in SING!. “The most memorable experience would most likely be the juniors and the freshman getting together. At first, we come in and try out with people that are older, which is a weird experience. It’s amazing how we come together from acquaintances to best of friends. Of course your grades will get lower, but in the end of the year it’s not that one test grade you think about, it’s the fun and new friends that you made,” he said.
Junior Kseniya Davydova, actress, also stressed the community that formed between the freshmen and juniors. She said, “The best experience was seeing how the cast bonded throughout the two months. We went from barely knowing each other to getting extremely close, coming together and putting on an amazing show.”
Ameer Kazmi, senior, who played Eric in “160 Hours,” spoke about the many memories he will have from the production. He added, “This was my first year doing SING! and I’m proud to say it’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. Preparing was scary but in the end we pulled through and everyone was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for better directors or a better cast to work with.”
Chris Jordan, senior, spoke about his role. “I’m going to miss coming to practice after school every day the past couple of months. It was one of my best high school experiences that I would never have really expected to be a part of.”
Sophomore Nina Leeds already has plans for next year’s SING!. She said, “It was great to be able to pull off a win this time. I certainly hope to continue with SING! and possibly direct and write next year.”
The audience, which was comprised of teachers, students, alumni, and family members expressed how much they enjoyed the entire production. Caitlin Ortiz, junior, said, “I thought that the Se’mores deserved to win. Their act had amazing dancing and singing.
It was also really funny, so I enjoyed it a lot. The Freshiors of course put on an amazing show as well. Their act had amazing acting and a great story line.”
Jason Mills, senior, raved about the Se’mores. He said, “I think that Lawfanduh [played by Nazifa Nasim, senior] was definitely a show stopper, and pretty much kept the laughs going. The singing and dancing on the part of the Semores was also incredible.”
Alexa Luciano, sophomore, said, “The Freshiors had amazing actors. I loved the three old ladies in the Se’more show. They were so funny in every part.”
