You know those people in high school that teachers and parents always talked about being so “talented” because they were in school plays or musicals? I was not a fan of those people.
I was captain of the Varsity Basketball and Tennis team but no one ever talked about me being “talented.” No one ever came to my games (besides my friends and family) but everyone seemed to go see my school’s theater productions and those students got all the praise.
Can you tell I was a little bit bitter?
If I’d had the time to be in a play, I probably would have been. I blamed it on my busy schedule, but really I was always terrified of being on a stage and was hesitant to try out. Just thinking of having everyone looking at me makes me uncomfortable. And why would anyone ever want a spotlight shining on them? There are enough lights as it is. I’m pretty sure you can see me… no need to illuminate me. Needless to say, I’m way more comfortable being on a basketball court or running around playing tennis than acting.
So when my sorority told us new members four months ago that Songfest, a student-run show where competitors put on musical skits to raise money for Troy Camp, was mandatory, obviously I was not thrilled.
The theme this year was “Drawn to Action” and our skit was about Tommy Trojan and his fellow USC Trojans defeating Dr. Maniacal. So for the next four months we had weekly Songfest rehearsals to learn the script, memorize the songs, and practice the dances. Weekly emails were sent out telling us about an upcoming showcase, teaching us about a new dance move we were adding, giving us the new lyrics, or letting us know about a review session (yes, I went to every one because I needed all the help I could get). Our team– my sorority, Alpha Phi, and the fraternity Alpha Gamma Omega– won Songfest last year, and there was a lot of pressure to win again, so our Songfest leaders were pretty intense.
Songfest finally rolled around this past Friday. We were told to be at the frat at 3:00pm. We weren’t scheduled to go on until 9:30pm, so a call-time (I sound so theatrical!) of 3:00 sounded ridiculously early. I rolled up to the frat around 7:00 and walked in to see one of the guys brandishing a wooden sword wearing a Tommy Trojan outfit.
Yeah, he looked a little goofy.
I looked around to see every girl wearing a white shirt with SC written on it and every guy wearing a red shirt. Then I looked at their faces and saw these red masks painted on. The girls had glitter on their faces. The guys weren’t supposed to, but there were a few who were obviously confused and had put some glitter on. Needless to say they didn’t look as intimidating as they were supposed to.
I put my shirt on, got my face painted, sprinkled on a little glitter and found my partner. We went through the show a few times, then headed over to Bovard Auditorium to wait for our turn. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any of the other performances (since we were last) but we got to see everyone in their outfits waiting around outside until it was their turn to go on, which was entertaining. No one looked as good as us.
The show was running a little late. Finally, at 10:00pm it was our turn to go on. We walked into to Bovard through the back and arranged ourselves on stage. Then the curtain went up and everything started. Song 2 came on and out I went to sing and dance. I didn’t mess up, which was really exciting. Apparently my partner was just as happy I didn’t ruin the dance because he just looked at me with this shocked expression and then proceeded to give me a high-five and say “Wow, you got it!”
Watch the Video: AGO + Alpha Phi, Songfest 2011
Our team was amazing. The costumes were great, we were all in unison, no one fell during the lifts, and everyone nailed their lines. So when all the teams were called back on stage for the awards ceremony we were really excited.
We ended up winning best choreography (obviously, we had lifts!) and second place. Everyone had worked really hard for the past few weeks and we really wanted to win for our Songfest leaders so 2nd place was disappointing, but I guess it was still an accomplishment. I was just happy I managed to get the choreography down in time for the performance. It only took me a few minutes weeks.
