First-time directors Morgan Negus, Olivia Webber and Mallorie Reeder faced many challenges, but were able to prevail to win Sweepstakes at the 75th anniversary of Step Sing.
Phi Mu is starting a new Step Sing dynasty by claiming their second Sweepstakes in three years, a streak only interrupted by a second runner up. The last time the sorority won before 2023 was 1991.
Movie ushers was not Phi Mu’s first theme choice this year: it was their 14th.
Negus said they “went into theme selection with all our marbles in our number one theme,” which did not make it past Samford’s Step Sing committee. The directors switched themes multiple times before locking in movie ushers.
Phi Mu’s Step Sing Committee played a big part in developing the plot, choosing the songs and creating the show’s title.
Their committee included sisters Claire Drennen, Emily Redford, Hallie Barnwell, Kendall Weaver, Allie Blackwell, Layne Oldham, Rylan Whitney and Sydney Jones.
Phi Mu’s directors cited Mark Willard, the show’s arranger, as another major player in the show’s success. They gave Willard a summary of their show and song choices but trusted him to manage the selections of each song for the show.
Though they got past theme selection, their struggles were far from over.
“Then the snow hit. I was supposed to go to Huntsville, to him (Willard) to record practice tracks. But he ended up being snowed in, and I ended up being snowed in,” said Webber.
Webber managed to communicate digitally with Willard by sending a recording of herself singing the show’s vocal parts.
Phi Mu was not always sure they had a shot at Sweepstakes.
“Every time we took two steps forward, it felt like we took three steps back,” said Negus. “Our first tech was really rough.”
Throughout the process, the group gradually found confidence in their show.
“Once we started running the show start-to-finish, it felt more complete,” Webber said.
Despite the competitive culture surrounding Step Sing, Phi Mu’s directors claimed to have maintained their focus on having fun with the experience.
“I tried not to think too much about winning.” Webber said. “If you win but hate all of January, it’s not worth it.”
A big part of keeping things fun was Phi Mu’s ‘team mom’ committee that would bring snacks to practice.
Webber described that one participant bought a gaggle of items from the store Five-Below and would give them away as “the prize of the day” to a deserving participant.
At the end of their 40 hours of allotted practice time, Phi Mu had around 20 alumni attend a practice, including last year’s directors Kate Gunn, Rebekah Willard Walker and Whitney Hebert, along with a director from the 80s whose daughter directed “9 to 5.”
“My favorite tradition is the last practice we have class dances,” said Negas. “So, all the freshmen, then all the sophomores, then juniors and then seniors do the show together. It’s very sentimental; everyone cries.”
Though the pressures of winning are high for a group like Phi Mu, the directors were intentional on not being too hard on themselves.
“Something we talked about during Step Sing weekend was that we want to walk in humility,” Webber said. “If we don’t place, I didn’t want that to be a disappointment.”
The directors found joy in simply making a show all 80 participants could be proud of. It not only became their motivation, but something they found peace in as a group.
“We told our group, ‘It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, or if anyone thinks we should win or lose, because we are content and happy with the work that we put in’,” said Negas.
Negus and Webber praised their third director’s work, lauding Reeder for excellently matching the choreography with the music and catering each moment on stage to the movie it paid homage to.
With a focus on sisterhood and humility, these directors weathered Samford’s busiest month and began 2025 with a rare honor, a 2nd Sweepstakes trophy in 3 years.
Staff Writer
