A day of song and dance

The Mt. Pleasant High School gym will transform to a big production theater on Saturday as MPHS hosts its 28th Annual Show Choir Invitational.

Performers from 18 different schools will take the stage at the all-day event.

“They gym is no longer a gym. It’s a stage with lights and big production possibilities,” Mt. Pleasant High School Vocal Director Marlene DePriest said. “There’s a lot of great singing, and the dancing is incredible too. There are just some amazing shows that are going to be happening on Saturday.”

DePriest said that there will be schools from Illinois and Missouri, as well as a number of Iowa schools taking part in the competition.

“It’s a large school competition, mostly a 4A,” she said. “It will be competitive 4A final.

“We also have a couple middle schools that are coming, and you’ll get to see them dance and sing at a young age and just learning and loving what they do. We have six prep groups, which is kind of like the JV. They take it to a whole next level.”

Each school brings a large contingent of performers.

The Mt. Pleasant group has 48 singers and dancers, as well as 13 musicians in the show band.

“There are another seven are on my crew,” DePriest said. “It’s a great group. They really work hard, and they’re a lot of fun to be with.”

The first group performs at 8 a.m. to start the day.

“We have the daytime awards at 6:30 p.m., then the top six scoring groups from the daytime will perform in the finals at night,” DePriest said. “Hopefully, we’ll get started on that about 7:45 p.m., with the awards probably around 11 p.m. or so.

“It’s a long day, but it’s a lot of fun with all the music and dancing that we have. Something about a show choir invitational like this, the kids just go and have fun. They support each other, and it’s just a great time.”

DePriest explained that the judges rate the performers on a number of criteria.

”There’s the vocal component of it, which has several different categories under that, like intonation, balance and blend,” she said. “Then, there’s choreography section of the ballot that deals with precision, originality and does it fit with the music. The show band itself has its own separate category.”

Hosting a show choir invitational is a monumental task.

“There are many, many volunteers from the community who come in and work the kitchen and concessions, sit at the information table for admissions, and they’re behind the scenes at the stage helping get each group ready to perform,” DePriest said. “Many, many hats are worn that day.”

Preparations in the gym began this week.

“We will start getting lights put in the gym on Wednesday,” she said. “As soon as the basketball game is over on Thursday night, we will put the tarp down, the kids will come in, we’ll set up the stage and finish lights and curtain that night.

“The next day, we finish getting everything else ready that needs to be done.”

Admission to the show is $10 for the entire day, and it allows attendees to come and go as they please.

In addition to the performances, there are also a number of food options that will be available.

“There’s food galore,” DePriest said. “Our boosters have got it down to a fine science of having great food in the kitchen and the concessions. It’s a great day to just come out and enjoy music and eat.”

Comments: james.jennings@southeastiowaunion.com