Sing Turns 50

Much of Mike Riemer's fall was spent digging through boxes -- boxes of photos, boxes of papers, boxes of costumes. It was an interesting start to a new career as Baylor's coordinator of special performances, a job that kept him busy looking for anything he could find about All University Sing, a Baylor tradition that turns 50 in February. 
Like many others pulling together the golden anniversary festivities, he's been making phone calls and writing e-mails since last summer. Being on the lookout for treasures from past Sing participants is a task some might not enjoy, but Riemer, BBA '01, also was Sing co-chair for his fraternity's act in 2000, and he knows firsthand what makes the tradition special. 
"I've found pictures of people from, say, the mid-60s, running on stage. You see the panicked looks on their faces and think, 'That's still exactly how it is,'" he says. "I totally know what that person is thinking." 
Anyone who has ever performed in Sing also can identify, Riemer says, and that shared experience makes the commemoration that much more important. "There's something different in the air in Waco Hall during Sing weekends. There's an anticipation and excitement," he says. "People like to feel part of that." 
It's a tradition that began with little fanfare in spring 1953 with an invitation by then-director of the Student Union Building Marie Mathis. For the first few years, students performed on risers on the Waco Hall stage, singing hymns and choral music for a relatively small audience, Riemer says.
Tommye Lou Davis, associate professor of Latin and Master Teacher, participated in the first of many Sing programs during her freshman year in spring 1963. As an undergraduate, she played a court jester in her sorority's production of "Camelot," helped topple the Berlin Wall and donned a clown outfit. 
Her favorite role, though, is that of die-hard Sing supporter. Davis has seen every single show since 1963 -- most of them twice. "I don't think there's anybody on campus who can beat my record. There's probably no one on campus who wants my record," she adds with a grin. 
She acknowledges that acts were much simpler in the beginning seasons of Sing, with a great deal more emphasis placed on theme development than what one often sees today. Not that the students couldn't put on an entertaining show, she says. "As far as coming up with ideas, college kids have always been creative and uninhibited," she says. "That's always been part of Sing." 
Davis remembers quite a few of the hundreds of acts she's seen in the past 40 years. One of her favorites won first place the year after she graduated from Baylor (and, incidentally, was performed by her sorority.) In the act, the women changed from fatigues into go-go outfits, white boots and all. Midway through her recollection, she breaks into the song from that act: "These boots are made for walking. And that's just what they'll do. One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you." 
"There were some awfully good shows in the '60s and '70s," she continues. "It wasn't such an elaborate performance, but everybody had a great time." 
Those earlier, simpler shows are a far cry from the Sing acts of the last few decades. Today's student groups spend months working on theme, costumes, choreography and songs. During two weekends in the spring semester, the students compete against as many as 20 groups for a much-coveted place in the next fall's Pigskin Revue, performed at Homecoming. 
It's literally a process of blood, sweat and tears, Riemer says, and like most who survived Sing, he's got a story to prove it. The year he served as his group's Sing co-chair, he spent much of his Christmas break in Waco painting a backdrop, which was stored in a building with holes in the roof. One morning, after waking up to the sound of raindrops hitting his bedroom window, he and his co-chair raced to the building to protect their hard work. They draped large plastic sheets across the ceiling, directing the water flow into buckets scattered throughout the room. For the next four days, they camped in their sleeping bags, setting their alarm clocks for every 30 minutes so they could empty the buckets, he recalls. 
"That's the kind of stuff that you go through when you're doing Sing that people never see," he says. "I probably learned more about myself in the year-and-a-half that I was Sing chair than I did during that same chunk of time anywhere else." 
Davis says Sing is a great tool for teaching college students life lessons. "You can hear someone talk about leadership or take a course in it, but there is no way to learn leadership skills like participating in something like Sing," she says. "You're not going to get that from a textbook." 
Apparently, Davis isn't the only person to think that. In 1986, former Baylor President Abner McCall made the comment that, "Sing does more to teach students to work together on a voluntary effort; it is worth a semester of school here -- and I would rather have a student learn how to operate Sing than to make five A's over in the history department."
The experience of spending so many hours together on one project also helps nurture a deep bond between future alumni and their alma mater, Davis says. "It makes you feel so much a part of the University. All those things are important for students to feel they have a special place. And when they graduate, that's what they remember." 
During the Homecoming celebration in October, many former Sing participants were able to reminisce about their memories during a reception hosted by the Student Activities department. Throughout several rooms on the second floor of the Bill Daniel Student Center, Sing paraphernalia was displayed in glass cases and on mannequins and walls. During the two Sing weekends, a similar exhibit will be in the BDSC. 
Just as different as the acts that are performed on stage each year are the reasons why people love Sing. Some appreciate its entertainment value, such as Riemer, who says, "You'd be hard-pressed to find a stage show anywhere that's four hours long, that probably has 2,000 lighting cues and a cast of 2,000." Others, such as Davis, go for the students. 
"There are some people who would think I'm really weird to get that big a kick out of it," she says of her record-breaking attendance of the show. "But when students invest that kind of time and energy in something, I'm interested."
 

All University Sing performances will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and March 1 in Waco Hall. For more information, visit studentactivities.web.baylor.edu/attend-event/all-university-sing.