Singing, not screaming, important for IU Sing

At 1606 N. Fee Lane lies the Wilcox House, home of the IU Student Foundation and the behind-the-scenes of IU Sing.\nInside is the steering committee, one of the groups responsible for making sure everything is running smoothly, on schedule and on track.\nSeniors Kari Kull, Jamie Wensel, Nick Brown, Alicia Ott and Stacy Donner are propping themselves up on the desk in the main lobby, discussing the time and location of each practice they'll be observing, figuring out who's driving who and who gets to ride shotgun with who.\nOnce that's sorted out, everyone hops in a car and heads to the first house.\nEntering in the back door of Gamma Phi Beta, they zig-zag through hallways until they emerge at a giant clearing -- the basement -- with tables and chairs stacked on each other and pressed against the walls.\nMen and women mill around in the middle, chattering about miscellaneous topics, most popular being their plans for the evening.\nUpon the arrival of the steering committee, a woman with a slight frame strides to the center of the room and calls for everyone to take their kazoos and places. People immediately snap to attention and move to their respective locations.\nSince this is the last full week of practice, all 22 IU Sing groups have to make the most of the four to five practices they've been having every week since the beginning of January.\n"Once it gets down to the wire, everyone gets really stressed and competitive because everyone really wants to win," songleader/producer Kari Kull said.\nIU Sing points are based 50 percent on performance and 50 percent on production (attendance, script, rough and final draft). Absences count against a team, so they can actually lose before they're ever even in it. That's why the straggler coming in halfway through the performance attempts to slide in undetected.\nPoints are also based on IU Sing Spirit, which is why even in practice everyone must show enthusiasm and a smile at all times. Spirit is so important, in fact, that Kull started a practice by threatening to pick on anyone who appeared to be slacking on it.\nOther criteria for a good skit include dancing in crisp, straight lines; being well-choreographed, animated and in-sync with each other; and being loud but not deafening. Committee members are constantly reminding groups that it's "IU Sing, not IU Scream."\n"A good group is just like ours -- filled with people who are happy to be at rehearsal every night and willing to give 100 percent. I am so proud of what our group has accomplished. Their energy, dedication and cohesiveness as a group have been phenomenal," said Delta Gamma songleader junior Kate Mercer.\nA sense of humor also seemed to help, as there were numerous giggles and grimaces from people running into each other and throwing off all their fellow dancers.\nTolerance for armpits and close proximity appears to be a must, as there are a lot of arms-over-the-shoulders routines.\nSenior Jamie Wensel, Sponsorship Director, said participants don't have to have any musical or dance ability to participate. What some might lack in talent, they can make up for in enthusiasm.\nFor the majority of participants, this enthusiasm shows during their performances. Several participants said they have a lot of fun practicing, even though it's time consuming and a lot of work.\n"We throw candy if they are doing well, try to make jokes and let them have some free time. But this week we will be much stricter," Sophomore Molly David, one of the song leaders for Kappa Kappa Gamma said.\n"My goal is to make sure the participants are having fun and the other song leaders and I are having fun, too. After the fun, my goal is to win IU Sing," David said.\nSenior Brad Lister, songleader for the Southeast neighborhood, expressed his optimism for his group's chances at winning IU Sing, regardless of the fact that they are the only residence hall group in the competition.\n"The fact that we are not a fraternity or sorority is rather beneficial because our members are not mandated to participate -- they want to be there. Most of our efforts are concentrated on being the best we can be, without regards to outside comparison," Lister said.