This year’s Singarama, called “Singarama’s On Fire,” showing April 3-5 in Collins Alumni Auditorium, offers a trifecta of shows with the themes of “Stop,” “Drop” and “Roll.”
Members of Phi Sigma, Delta Nu, Delta Tau and Tau Phi, along with friends, will be staging the “Roll” performance.
“Roll” director and Phi Sigma member Alex Shumate said that the show is about a boy who purchases a bike with hopes to gain friends.
But when the bike is stolen, he must figure out a way to find the bike, which pushes him to learn more about himself. Throughout the show, there are plenty of recognizable songs, primarily from the 80s and 90s.
“The hardest part [has been] making it all come together and making it all make sense,” Shumate said.
This is also the first time she has directed a Singarama show.
“It can be difficult, but I have a lot of people who are really great, and a lot of people [who] are helping me a ton,” Shumate said.
Another unique aspect of every Singarama production is the integration of music within the show.
Cece Ramsey, the show’s main choreographer, said that though she enjoys the work, it is difficult to manage so many dancers.
“It’s always crazy trying to get 80 [people] on stage,” Ramsey said. “You want as many as possible for visual effect and volume.”
Ramsey has choreographed the shows in some way since freshman year.
In creating the dances for each song, the “Roll” crew collaborated on what music to use, how many dancers are needed for each song and what style of music to use during the show.
Senior and Tau Phi member Austin Birge plays the main character in “Roll.” He said that he enjoys being apart of the entire performance.
“It’s really rewarding to get to work with everybody,” Birge said. “I’m not just in one scene, so I get to work with all the characters, and that’s a pretty cool part for me.”
Birge also acted as one of the main characters in last year’s Singarama.
“For me, I just like getting on stage and cutting loose,” Birge said. “I have no shame. I get kind of goofy on stage, and that’s what makes Singarama great.”
Birge said that the hardest part for him has been learning the dances.
“I’m not a very good dancer, and the girls get on me and tell me that I need to learn how to dance,” he said.
Although he is the main character, Birge credits the rest of the participants for producing a good show.
“I’m the main character, but I’m just everybody else’s supporting cast. Everybody else makes the show funny.
“We put the hard work into it, and it’s going to turn out to be a good show.”
The shows can be seen at 7:30 each night of its run. Saturday also has a 2 p.m. show.
Photo credit: Erin Turner