Giant red blood cells talking trees and woodland critters have invaded campus! But there is no reason for alarm if you see magma droplets or a butterfly eating dinner near you at the Caf. It can only mean one thing Songfest is finally here.
Songfest is one of Pepperdine’s unique and beloved traditions that normally sells out its six annual shows in March. This year’s theme is “All Nature Sings in which each of the groups of around 85 students must perform 12-minute musicals that draw from some aspect of nature.
A panel of entertainment-industry professionals and members of the Pepperdine family score each group in the categories of singing, dancing, costumes, sets, script and enthusiasm. After the final performance on Saturday night, the group with the highest total score will win the coveted Songfest Sweepstakes Award.
But wait, the competition is more complicated than that.
There can be no more than two minutes of speaking, and only limited solo singing or solo dancing — the group must perform the majority of the musical together.
Since September, group leaders have spent time choosing, designing, writing and preparing each show, but the material must kept secret from anyone in their group until the two last school weeks before performances.
Preparing a show in two weeks of rehearsal time sounds like a daunting task to anyone who has experience working on group projects, and, in fact, it is. Coordinating and choreographing a group of 85 Pepperdine students in just a few weeks, spending time in late-night rehearsals while keeping the details secret from other groups is tough. But the week of Songfest performances, the hard work pays off in laughs, applause and friendships.
The other exciting element of Songfest is the hosts. The hosts this year are five hilarious and talented seniors: Zach Garrett, Annie Block-Weiss, Matt Jones, Lindsey Sundman and junior Kate Pauley. They must spend months preparing creatively arranged music, choreography and short nature-themed skits that introduce each Songfest group.
Songfest has five evening performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday.