In the average time it takes to brush your teeth ““ 45 seconds ““ Spring Sing 2008’s stage crew has removed the previous act’s equipment and set up for Company’s skit.
“We have to make sure that everything is circulating on and off stage as smoothly as possible,” said Robert Frink, Spring Sing 2008’s stage manager and third-year evolutionary biology student.
“We need to be as on top of our game as possible so the show can run smoothly.”
It is because of this Jenga-esque task of putting on a 2 1/2 hour performance for a sold-out crowd of 5,300 audience members that the committee and crew of Spring Sing 2008 have developed more than friendships. Reliance on one another has nurtured the teamwork that has made Spring Sing a success from its inception in 1945.
“My committee is so incredible,” said Ruben Garcia, a third-year sociology student and Spring Sing 2008’s executive director.
“I don’t feel any stress. There’s always a speed bump or two, but everyone has done such a phenomenal job that I’ve never felt like Spring Sing was going to fall apart.”
While most students were enjoying their summer vacation on the beach, Garcia was already beginning to plan this year’s Spring Sing, which will take place this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
After being a Student Alumni Association volunteer for the past two years and working on Spring Sing two years ago, Garcia knew that the event would take a group of individuals who were willing to risk grades and their Thursdays in order for the performance to go on.
“I don’t remember the last time I got eight hours of sleep,” said Mark Iverson, a third-year film and television student and Company member.
“(When I do dream), I dream in Spring Sing videos. That’s all I think about: videos.”
Starting with committee selection in October, Garcia and his team worked to finalize the preplanning portion of the event ““ from logistics to budget to securing celebrity judges. The hardest part, however, came with the selection of Company and talent. Unfortunately for Garcia and his crew, around 140 people came to audition for the spots.
“At one point in the fall, we had to fit in over two weeks of auditions,” Garcia said. “My committee had to manage their work and academics. The morale was kind of low for a little bit, but we came out of it.”
Frink also knew the work ahead of him when he accepted his role of leading the stage crew. Though he had been sketching the designs for the stage since November, he realized that the spontaneous nature of live performance meant that the communication between him and his crew had to be perfect.
“Through Company rehearsals, through talent auditions, through everything, we’ve gotten to know everyone really well ““ the good and the bad, the ins and outs of everyone’s personality,” Frink said.
“Because what we do requires we spend so much time together, we get to bond like most people don’t get to do.”
Practice did not only mean working out the motions on stage. For Frink and his team, making sure that Spring Sing would run as smoothly as possible meant getting to know each other by bonding together as a team, especially during late-night practices.
“When people get delirious because of caffeine highs, it gets interesting,” Frink said.
Garcia agrees that the fun times spent with his co-workers will help shape the foreseen success of the program this year.
“We all kind of just go a little crazy,” Garcia said. “We have to have fun while we’re doing it; it makes it all worth it.”
As Friday draws near and with fewer rehearsals before the actual event, the Spring Sing committee, Company and crew eagerly anticipate it, feeling prepared as they approach the big day together.
“It’s like camp,” Iverson said. “You get to know each other for a long time, and even when it’s over, you aren’t going to hang out with these people for the rest of your life. You’re not going to be roommates, but you’ll always remember each other ““ all the long hours, the stress and a great show.”