Behind the scenes of the fan favorite, Encore, singers put in numerous hours of work leading up to the final performance. The first time-consuming stressor is prepping for a weekend long of auditions.
Singers must include rehearsed music parts, extra sheet music and choreography in each 10 minute audition. Since most singers participate in as many groups as possible, senior Nataile Riley finds it harder to manage stress levels from increased responsibility and time-commitment.
“I’m getting burnt out because I’ll do six rehearsals a day. I go from not dancing to dancing every single hour,” Riley said. “My body hurts. And especially for leading [rehearsals], it’s just mentally exhausting.”
While other students were out enjoying winter break, these singers packed rehearsals into their schedules left and right. The rigorous rehearsal schedule gave singers little time for outside-of-school activities according to senior Alex Godinez.
“I couldn’t work as much as I’d hoped to because of random rehearsals,” Godinez said. “At a certain point, you need to prioritize Encore over your own personal things if you want to be committed to a group.”
Choir teachers, Joshua East and Olivia Henning, realize how overwhelming this process may get. In reaction, they try to create a balance of enjoyable experiences for students while managing the baseline responsibility it takes.
“We try to walk that line between high expectations and realistic healthy boundaries as best we can. It can be stressful for folks, but we try. You can be as involved as you’d like to be, and we personally try really hard to emphasize that,” East said.
Even with this said, more pressure is piled up since many of the singers have fond memories of watching siblings perform. For example, Riley remembers dyeing Easter eggs in the ticket line while waiting to see her older sister perform.
“This is a family tradition. We have students that maybe they had parents, cousins, siblings that did this. It’s important to them to feel like they’re part of that legacy,“ Henning said.
Encore is more than just a show to these singers; it’s a tradition they’ve looked forward to for years. With only junior and senior year to audition, seniors feel pressured to get any song ideas covered.
“It’s your final picture of high school, so it’s just emotional. It closes my whole choir career, which is such a big thing in my life,” Riley said.
Despite how stressful preparing for Encore might get, singers feel the hard work is worth it according to Riley. Encore creates the opportunity for singers to express themselves through their passion for music.
“Encore is just such a big word to me. It’s the last time you’re singing with people that you love and care about for who knows when,” Riley said. “I want to go out with a bang, since I’ll never get this experience again.”
