Alphi Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma rehearse their Sing Song skit. (Rebecca Keay / SMU Program Council)

This Friday, April 19, Program Council is hosting the annual Sing Song performance at 7:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium.

The campus tradition brings together various groups and organizations that partner up, produce, and perform their own ten-minute musical acts.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the school tradition and its partnership with SMU’s Program Council.

Sing Song began in the 1930s, but lost steam and died out for a period of time until Program Council decided to revitalize the event. In honor of the 25-year partnership, Program Council has deemed the theme this year as, “Then and Now”, which allows groups to chose a theme from previous years past and re-invent it for their performance this year.

This year’s show consists of six different groups, each with a different theme for their act.

Chi Omega and BYX have partnered up to cover “Grease,” Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Alpha are tackling “Animal House,” while Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi have chosen “All American” as their theme.

The Lyle School of Engineering and Theta Tau will be performing an Elvis themed act, Alpha Chi and Kappa Sigma will be covering “Movie Mania,” and Gamma Phi Beta and BME are set to perform a Broadway themed act.

The event is co-chaired by SMU senior Tashika Varma and sophomore Geenah Krisht. The two have been planning the performance since September, while groups have been producing and practicing their shows since February.

Two of the performance groups, Chi Omega and BYX, and Gamma Phi Beta and BME, will also perform their acts on Thursday, April 25 during the Bush Block Party and the Lighting of Freedom Hall ceremony.

“It’s an incredible honor to be asked to perform for the Bush Block Party,” said Jessica Bordelon, the director of Chi Omega’s group.

“It means that the committee in charge feels our performers will represent the incredible talent SMU has and that our performance is enjoyable for any audience.”

Before the two teams perform at the block, they must compete in the signature event itself. The groups are competing for the top three-finalist spots – each comes with its own cash prize and trophy. Three panelists will judge the acts based on the groups’ singing, theme development, and overall entertainment.

The identity of the judges remains a secret until the night of the actual performance.

At the end of the show, the audience will have the opportunity to share their input by texting in their vote for their favorite performance. The vote, while not as important as the actual judges’ opinions, will inevitably have an impact on the final outcome and winners.

In celebration of 25 years together, Program Council and Sing Song will have a special guest performance by Michael Henry and Justin Robinett, a popular YouTube cover band.

The duo will perform a special set list during the deliberation process at the end of the show. With all of the acts together, the event is bound to be an entertaining show.

“Sing song is so entertaining. You [get] to see so much creativity,” said Bailee Petty, SMU sophomore and concerts chair. 

“Every group there does something that I laugh out loud at. All the work they put in, it’s nice to see it all come together on the night of the show. ”