Preparation for Singarama’s “Fractured Fairytale” underway

There are still 6 months until 2027’s edition of Signarama but preparations have been underway for weeks now.

The first major step since President McQueen’s announcement of the theme, “Fractured Fairytale”, was taken recently.  September 29 was the deadline for students to submit applications for the role of director for the show.

Moving forward, the process gets competitive for students. Each show will have 2 co-directors working together. With 3 shows total in Signarama, there are 6 directors selected.

“We always have more [applicants] than we need, which is a good place to be. But also, it’s a tough decision,” said Landon Parrish, assistant Dean of Student Engagement. “We have some really good ideas and some really creative people. And we have to say no to some of them, unfortunately.”

While some of the requirements for being a director are typical for a leadership role at Lipscomb, such as meeting GPA requirements and not being on any official probations, some are unique for the Signarama. Students are expected to have some previous experience with the show and be flexible enough with their time.

“It’s a big time commitment. So, someone that’s got a full 18-hour course load doing an internship, it’s probably not going to work out for them,” said Parrish.

After applications are submitted, students will go through an interview process. There, applicants will be questioned so showrunners can gauge their creativity, leadership and level of experience.

“I want to hear their ideas. I had them actually pitch to me what they’re thinking for the theme,” said Parrish. “I want to hear what they’re thinking to do for the theme because you know once they’re selected as a director, it’s up to them to write an original script. So you know we’re looking for not just creativity but we’re looking for people that are organized, that can deliver and have a track record of you know success and leading big initiatives.”

Parrish also put emphasis on being able to deal with internal conflict, which is almost guaranteed to happen in a creative endeavor.

“As a director, you have to say no to some of those, right? To be able to get to the yes, you’ve got to have a lot of no’s. And so, someone that’s willing to step up and say no to their peers, but to collaborate and take other people’s ideas.”

For students that want to be involved with Signarama but aren’t able to be directors, there are still a lot of option, such as acting and hosting.