Behind the scenes of this year’s edition of the Sixth Form’s Soirée

In the run-up to this year’s edition of the popular Sixth Form Soirée, meet the Committee who is working (read: dancing, singing, writing, painting, and so much more) hard to put on a memorable show (‘Bringing Back Footloose: A Drive-In Experience’ – sounds exciting, right?), despite current setbacks…

• What does preparing for Soirée involve?

Preparation for Soirée is an ongoing process that starts nearly a whole year before the show itself. Rehearsals are probably the predominant way through which preparation takes place because the cast needs to practice over and over again under the guidance of their respective director. However, there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes. Such a show requires a great deal of funding, and this is achieved by reaching out to sponsors and also organising fundraisers. Additionally, the physical spaces need to be prepared and decorated to hold the various performances that form part of Soirée. Although there is a lot of preparation that goes on behind the scenes, everyone enjoys participating in their own individual way to collectively create the best show possible.

• What are your individual roles and responsibilities?

Soirée is made up of multiple teams who work on different aspects that contribute to this event. The musical directors behind the show are responsible for scriptwriting, choreography, song choice, as well as casting. Similarly, the item directors are focused on coordinating their individual item, be it a dance, comedy skit, band, or singing item. The show itself obviously wouldn’t be possible without a cast, orchestra and compères, who all rehearse tirelessly to ensure that Soirée ends up being a high-quality production. Moreover, the crew teams (including stage-hands, comms, photographers, videographers, mics, lighting, and make-up), together with the art team, ensure a smooth-running of the show by taking care of all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into Soirée. On the nights themselves, the Front of House team take care of the audience by ushering, running the bar and guarding the premises. When it comes to logistics, the committee is in charge of merchandising and financials, fundraising together with the student council, reaching out to sponsors, coordinating the social media pages, as well as managing the Front of House and photography teams. However, Soirée wouldn’t be what it is without the ongoing assiduous efforts put in by Mr. Conrad, Ms. Annelise and administration.

• What new challenges are you facing this year due to COVID-19?

This year, Soirée is very different when compared to the previous years. For the first time ever, Soirée is being offered as a drive-in experience – as opposed to the traditional theatrical atmosphere. However, even though everyone is motivated to put on an amazing show, there have been several challenges faced this year as a result of the pandemic. It is safe to say that the greatest challenge experienced is the division between first-years and second-years. Soirée is normally a time in which all students from both years are able to bond – something that is unfortunately not as possible this year due to the year bubbles which have been put in place for our safety. Despite this, it can safely be said that strong relationships were still formed between students of the same year because Soirée will always be a great way to meet new people and form friendships that often last beyond sixth form.

• Why is Soirée such an important event for the students, and in what ways does it bring everyone together?

Soirée is deemed as such an important event as it is one of the few activities a year where the students come together and work towards achieving the common aim; holding the best show they possibly can. Everyone is aware that the audience pays money to see the show, and everyone is aware of the school’s reputation when it comes to the show, and hence we all work together to come up with the best possible performance. Students are brought together in the earliest stages of creation (such as scriptwriters), during rehearsals and production, and finally during the live performances (or final recording in the case of this year’s Soirée). Furthermore, Soirée is an important memory in SAC students’ scholastic experience and hence we all try our hardest to make sure that the show that we put up is memorable for both the audience and the performers; no one wants a memory of a show that is anything less than perfect. On a more personal level, Soirée is a way in which many students can show their true talents, such as the performing arts. Many students take participating in Soirée as a mode of connecting with others and making new friends, especially through the bonds created during rehearsals.

• In what way do you see the Soirée as an essential part of the educational programme the College offers? What are the opportunities for learning and growth that it provides?

The Aloysian community highly emphasizes the importance of education to go beyond the usual classroom teachings. Students get the chance to dance, sing, paint, play instruments, and many students take Soirée as an opportunity to develop new talents and/or grow in their already existing talents that are not usually given a lot of importance within the curriculum.

Soirée also helps students build much-needed social skills such as organisation, patience and unity; skills that, again, are not usually given the necessary importance within the classroom. This gives anyone, even the people that believe are incapable of the performing arts, to take part – we see roles such as those of Security and Usher being extremely important during the actual nights of the show even though it does not require much technical skill and practice. Soirée therefore gives all students the chance to feel needed and essential within the performance, greatly emphasizing the feeling of community and unity previously mentioned.

Click here to like and follow the SAC Soirée Facebook page

You can also find them on Instagram: @sacsoireeofficial