[Update] Singarama 2011: For Good Measure made history. “Better Late Than Never,” directed by Morgan Philley, was the first show in 10 years to win every category (theme, music and staging) and the overall sweepstakes.
Supposedly, the last show to accomplish this feat was “Hip to be Square” in 2001, directed by Emily Thompson.
The time-themed show performed by Gamma Xi, Sigma Iota Delta, Phi Sigma and friends followed Doug, an obsessed-with-time delivery man on his daily route. Through meeting outlandish characters along the way, Doug finally realized that his wife was more important than his job, and he needed to make time for her.
Student Coordinator Kaitlynn Passon announced the staging winner on Saturday afternoon, noting that it was a very close race. While Philley’s show had placed first in each category, it was still possible for them not to win the sweepstakes, because of points deducted for the show going longer than the allotted time.
Nerves were high going into Saturday night’s performance as each show had one of their best performances every. Randy Lowry announced the winner, and the group on stage went crazy.
[Original story] Morgan Philley, director of “Better Late Than Never,” led her group in celebration cheers last night after her show was awarded first place for theme.
“Winning theme was a huge honor for me, because I felt like our script, writers, cast, set designers and even choreographers put so much effort into making each aspect of our show incorporate “time” in such a creative way,” Philley said. “It was so rewarding for me as a director to see the group’s hard work be validated by winning a caption we worked so hard to do well in.”
While judges scored each of the three shows specifically on theme last night, there were also sweepstakes judges, who score on overall performance, interspersed throughout the audience. Each show has judges specifically for the night’s caption (theme, music, staging) and sweepstakes judges.
On Friday night, April 1, the shows will be judged specifically on music. The music winner will be awarded based on overall energy, song selection, pitch, loudness and more.
Saturday’s matinee show at 2 p.m. will be judged on staging, which includes dancing, sets, costumes and more. The final performance, Saturday at 7 p.m., the overall sweepstakes winner will be announced. Points have been accumulating over the last week and throughout all performances to determine the overall sweepstakes winner.
Philley is excited to have won “theme,” but knows that there is still a lot to accomplish over the next three performances.
“The plan for tonight is to work even harder to put on the best performance possible and for our group to sing LOUDLY!” Philley said.
Check back with Lumination Network tonight to find out who won “music” and for more updates on the show.
Photo Credit: Whitney Jarreld
Photos courtesy of Jake Morgan.