Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 86

Description:	all the world is a stageSounds of South students shared how they overcome thechallenges posed by preparing for, and performing in, twoproductions during the course of one year.Leadership, or lack thereof, can makeor break you. Though when you havestrong, prominent leadership guiding you every step of the way, anyfar-fetched dream can be realized.Sounds of Souths choir did just that.They started out the year thinking theywould put out one show, Carousel, andthen decided to add another show atthe end of the year, Godspell.But their success could not havebeen reached without the sheer determination and dedication from theirseniors. Freshman Margaret Christsaid, our strong leadership shaped usas a group, and their energy trickleddown to all of us freshman. The energy was contagious and immediately shefelt a part of the group and was ecstaticto begin creating the show. This energycreated a group of high schoolers whounited into a close-knit communitystriving for two perfect performances.Putting out two shows was not aneasy task, especially since both performances challenged the performers acting and singing abilities. It was a dailychallenge for the actors because oneshow required seriousness while theother depended on the leads abilitiesto improvise on demand.Though it was difficult, the performers agreed that their hard work waswell worth it in the end. I wouldnttrade my experience for anything inthe world, senior John Sengelaubsaid. Having the two performanceswas really cool, I absolutely loved going musical-to-musical, he said. Sengelaub agreed with Christ that successshould be attributed to the leadershipthe seniors demonstrated throughoutthe year. Overall, I think the year wasa great success, Sengelaub said.-EMILY ROGERSJuniors Yohan George and Dylan Routenexplained some of Sounds of Souths pre-per-formance traditions and warm-ups. We have acircle, said George. Its like meditation, kindof. Its really relaxing. Routen added, Normally we warm up with our choir teacher, Ms.Gwen Upchurch. We lay down, turn off all thelights, and try to find our center. We go to thewater, is what she says.Freshman Luis Garza Velazquez was involved in a necessary, but not-necessarily visibleaspect of Sounds of South, sound. My job is toset up all the mics and speakers, and adjust thevolume levels throughout the show so it doesntget too loud or too soft. Garzas job requireddedication, Usually were there for every rehearsal, he added, and it usually requires us tobe there six hours before the show.*Another important, and highly visible, component of any production was the lighting. JuniorCatherine Quails related her experiencesworking the lightboard, For a big show westart setting up and focusing, and programmingeverything into the board. Quails added, then,always without fail, something is bound to gowrong during or before the show, so we get torun around frantically until its fixed.name that tuneWomens choir students sharedtheir favorite songs from all ofthose they learned andperformed throughout the year.My favorite right now isCross the Wide Missouritheres just something aboutthe song, its really pretty.—junior Taylor KerrProbably The Prayer.Its just a peaceful songand it kind of makes mewant to cry.-freshman Haley Vincent86 ACTIVITIES sounds ot south and choir
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8108
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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