Opinions

Despite seeing reviews in the newspaper, smelling the painted stage sets, hearing the bands practicing, feeling the step crews’ vibrations, and having felt the presence of SING! in every possible way, I have neither participated in nor watched SING! during my three years at Stuy. After hearing “Oh no, you didn’t?” many times and having been accused of being a loser and anti-social, I decided to give my three-year absence from SING! a little thought.

While the advantages of joining SING!—an outlet for many students’ talents—were obvious, the work and effort required of its members baffled me. Myra Alonso, member of the Junior SING! step crew, said, “we worked like every day after school, we practiced all day, during the weekend and we practiced during the mid-winter recess.” I was intimidated by stories about getting home at 10 p.m. and didn’t want to decrease the already small amount of sleep I got.

Although SING! is said to involve the entire school, that claim isn’t necessarily true. Students need to have enough nerve to audition and bear criticism. These qualities come from participating in other shows, concerts, and performances.

The excitement affects everyone, but a certain distance is kept from non-participants. Competition between classes prevents plots, characters, and dialogue from being discussed freely. This secrecy has lessened my excitement about SING!. People go to Broadway shows because they’re interested in some aspect of a musical, whether it’s the storyline, singing or the actors. Why can’t SING! be as public?

Ultimately, SING! isn’t about the performance. It is about the effort, creativity, and passion that students put into the process. I can make excuses, but eventually, it’ll be my loss to have missed SING!.

Although I won’t be seeing SING! this year, I can imagine that next year my curiosity will make me watch the show. Or even better, join it.