In a sit-down interview, this year’s Step Sing hosts, Elizabeth Pitts and Adreanna Pulliam, discussed their thoughts on Step Sing. Elizabeth is a junior from Hopkinsville, KY, double majoring in communication studies and religion, while Adreanna is a senior vocal performance major from Jacksonville, FL.
Q: What made you interested in being a host?
A: Elizabeth: “My family has a huge Samford and Step Sing legacy. All of them did Step Sing, my grandparents, all my aunts and uncles. Growing up, I would always watch the Step Sing Livestream, and I’ve just always kind of known about Step Sing as long as I’ve known about college, and so I just kind of wanted to give back to that in a way and just play a role in it.”
Adreanna: “I really looked up to Ambria and Jansyn last year. Step Sing is never really something that I thought I could do as a school of the arts major, […] I just never really saw it fitting into my schedule with how big of a time commitment it is to be in a group. And then when I saw Ambria, and she was already someone that I looked up to throughout my time at Samford, […] I was like, ‘Ok, I need to figure out how I can audition to be a host.’”
Q: Have you done Step Sing in the past?
A: Elizabeth: “I was a part of Unclassified my freshman year. Last year, I was studying abroad during Step Sing, but me and a bunch of my friends stayed up until like two in the morning and watched the livestream because of the time difference, and that was so much fun.”
Adreanna: “I have never been in a show.”
Q: What all goes into the interview process of a host? Were you nervous or scared going into it?
A: Elizabeth: “It was something that I kind of knew that I kind of wanted to do, but for some reason, I just didn’t think that it was fully attainable for me. You had to submit a video […] about why you think you would make a good Step Sing host, [and] in my head, I was like, ‘Okay, I know I would be good at this; how can I convince someone else that I would be good at this?’ I honestly didn’t think I would hear anything back and was over the moon thrilled whenever we got a call back.”
Adreanna: “For call backs, it was a really small group of us. There were five of us there, and we each got paired, and they tried every pair once […], and you just sort of did like different scenarios. [Elizabeth and I] got to do a fun skit where we sold an iPhone together, and I guess our personalities shined through.”
Q: What is required or involved in being a host? Is it more or less work than you expected?
Adreanna: “I love the host rehearsal schedule because, as a school of the arts major, I have a lot of rehearsals that I can’t really rearrange, but luckily, it’s really just me and Elizabeth figuring out what works between the two of us. We get a template script, and we sort of just get to make it our own. It’s really up to me and Elizabeth to make sure we’re putting in the work together to be able to produce a really good show.”
Q: What does rehearsal look like?
A: Elizabeth: “A little different every time. We’ve met in coffee shops, […] over FaceTime, [and] before Banner Drop, we literally just went and sat in the Wright Center to mentally process how many people were going to be staring at us that night.”
Q: Were you mentored in any way by the previous hosts?
A: Adreanna: “When I was going to film my audition video, I actually went and met up with Ambria during homecoming weekend. She gave me a couple of pointers, like obviously letting our personality shine through […] maybe not getting on the social media apps that may discourage me in shows.”
Elizabeth: “I had a similar thing with Jansyn. She was very encouraging and said a lot of the same things, just got to be confident, show your creativity, and let your personality come through.”
Q: Did you two know each other before becoming co-hosts?
A: Adreanna: “We did not. We’re becoming fast friends, […] and I definitely think that we’ll be friends when Step Sing is over. I’m thankful for Step Sing for bringing us together, and I’m thankful for Nicole for seeing that we had some type of chemistry, connection, friendship.”
Elizabeth: “Our brains are just like on the same creative wavelength, like we both bring different things to the table, but they all are under the same like creativity in a way, it just works, like they did such a good job.”
Q: What does Step Sing mean to you?
A: Elizabeth: “I feel like Step Sing is a physical manifestation of my personality. Step Sing is creative, it unifies people, and it is just so vibrant and fun, and in my mind, just the epitome of what joy is, and so that’s why I love Step Sing so much. It really is a space where I feel like I can fully be myself because it’s all the things I love projected on a grid and that everyone shares.”
Adreanna: “I love the unity that Samford has when it comes to Step Sing and how much rallying we have behind Step Sing and how much everyone gets involved. I love how creative everyone gets to be in the month of January.”
Q: If you could describe Step Sing in one word, what would it be?
A: Adreanna: “Electric”
Elizabeth: “Indescribable. If you’re outside of Samford, you don’t fully understand it and there’s no description that fully encapsulates it, you just have to go out and experience it.”
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