For most of this year’s directors, the 2024 Step Sing season started in 2023.
The director selection process varies from group to group, with a popular vote in the Greek chapters Alpha Omicron Pi and Alpha Tau Omega, multi-year directors in Dudes-A-Plenty, and involvement by the Samford Office of Student Activities and Events for the Freshman Ladies and Freshman Girls.
Bridget Callaghan, a junior member of AOPI, applied to be one of the sorority’s three directors in March 2023 after participating in AOPI’s 2022 and 2023 Step Sing shows. The applications were sent to all chapter members so they could review them before voting. Questions included the applicant’s experience in choreography, logistics, and music.
Alpha Tau Omega’s director application looked similar when junior Ryan Cruz applied for the 2023 show, also requiring a written-out show theme and other ideas.
Instead of applying again after helping direct ATO’s 2023 show, ATO held a popular vote for 2024 directors.
“We’ve never really had it before where people were a repeat director, so it kind of looked a little different my second time around,” said Cruz. “We basically would go up and give a speech, kind of platform of the direction we want to take Step Sing, and we let the chapter vote who they want to be the directors.”
Repeat directors are more common in the independent men’s group Dudes-A-Plenty (DAP), where current directors select new directors for the next year’s show.
Junior Jacob Norvell was selected after participating in DAP as a freshman.
“Grayson [Byram, Class of 2022] was pretty much my coach through all things Step Sing last year because I was like, ‘I’m a sophomore, youngest Dudes director ever… I don’t know what I’m doing,’” said Norvell.
Freshman Tanner Wages shared a similar sentiment directing Freshman Ladies this year.
After applying and interviewing with the Samford Office of Student Activities and Events to be a freshman director in September 2023, Wages was assigned to Freshman Ladies with two other freshman directors.
“Obviously, for me and the other two directors, it was our first time, and we didn’t really know what we were doing, so it was helpful having Nicole [Bryant],” said Wages.
Bryant, coordinator of student activities and events, worked closely with Freshman Ladies and Freshman Girls, guiding the directors with a planning timeline. Since the office has both groups practice on campus, Bryant also provided the practice schedule.
Unclassified, a Step Sing group for Greek and non-Greek female Samford students, opened 2024 applications after the 2023 show.
Senior Paisley Williams did not want to apply at first.
“And you know, prayer, the Lord, like whatever, you know, led me to do it, [and] I filled out the Google form,” said Williams, which included questions to gauge applicants’ creativity and experience with various aspects of performance.
Four out of these five directors solidified their positions in Spring 2023 and used the summer to brainstorm. Groups submitted their theme proposals to the Step Sing Committee in the middle of last semester, providing a thoroughly planned show and some less-developed backup themes. Directors have to get approval from the committee for their themes, costumes and song choices.
“[It’s] definitely a creative, collaborative space,” said Callaghan. “You got to have a lot of new and fresh ideas.”
Directors used the fall semester to gather up to eighty participants. AOPI held auditions. Freshman groups used a lottery system. For Unclassified and Dudes-A-Plenty, current students who participated last year were offered a spot again, and first-come-first-served sign-ups filled empty spots.
Then came winter break, which Cruz described as “crunch time for Step Sing directors.”
“There’s a lot of pieces that kind of have to come together before you can really make a lot of decisions about what you’re doing onstage, whether that be approval, participant lists… so you can make your formations accurate,” Cruz said.
Callaghan choreographed AOPi’s show over the break, sometimes staying in her room multiple hours a day.
And then, January.
“Definitely [my] least favorite part is just surviving the month of January as a student in addition to being a director, but it’s still hard to complain because it’s a privilege, and I love every second of it,” said Cruz.
“You’re having to do a lot of homework,” said Wages. “I have 8 AM’s every day of the week. And then, I have class until three, but then practice at 4… So it’s been really hard, but it’s been really rewarding, in the same breath.”
She described her directing experience as a sanctifying process.
“I think it’s a constant dying to your pride, and just your weaknesses are really exposed,” said Wages.
While balancing academics, directors also motivate and lead their participants.
“I told my participants the other day, ‘I didn’t bring you here for forty hours to put on a mediocre show,’” said Williams. “We’re gonna put on a great show”
Williams described facilitating the mindset of putting on a good show without expecting to win anything.
“And so the pressure is kind of taken off of them to be perfect, but they know they have to be great,” she said.
Norvell shared a similar sentiment.
“We don’t want people to look back on Step Sing and be like, ‘Man, that was miserable,’ or ‘Those guys were sticklers,’” Norvell said. “We want them to look back on it and be like, ‘That was so much fun; those guys were great leaders. We had a blast with them.’”
Wages applied to be a director because Step Sing helped solidify her college decision, and she wanted to give back to the Class of 2027.
“[Regarding directing], I would encourage any freshman, do it, but understand, it is not a small task. And it is not a task that you should hold lightly. It is a big time commitment. Most of the student body’s going to be watching this in a week, so you don’t want to embarrass yourself; you want to do it well,” said Wages. “But also, like, it’s not the end all be all, and there is an end day, and Step Sing doesn’t last forever.”
Staff Writer
