Imagining InterSING!

Every year, Stuyvesant’s annual SING! production brings together hundreds of students for a months-long, entirely student-run competition. Each grade (though sophomores and freshmen are combined) writes original scripts, composes music, designs sets, and comes up with unique plotlines, all in the interest of eventually coming out on top during the three evaluated showdays. Though SING! started out as a low-budget, minor production, it has grown to become a defining aspect of Stuyvesant’s culture, and students throughout the school have come to see it as one of the most anticipated traditions of the year.

Stuyvesant first started its SING! as a small event in 1973, but the idea of SING! itself was initiated at Midwood High School in Brooklyn in 1947 by music teacher Bella Tillis. It soon became an integral part of the culture in the school community and evolved to feature different grade levels competing against one another in original musical theater presentations. SING! soon spread from its original location and was adapted by different high schools throughout the NYC area, each creating its own unique versions of the original concept. Over the years, celebrities such as Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, and Barbra Streisand—all of whom attended high schools in Brooklyn and Queens—have taken part in SING!.

In 2015, ten NYC public schools, including Midwood, Murrow, Bayside High School and Park Slope Collegiate, were given the opportunity and funding to participate in SING! competitions. This was made possible partially by a large donation from Taylor Swift, who gave the proceeds from her 2014 single “Welcome to New York” to NYC public schools. Midwood High School ended up winning the InterSING! of 2014, and the competition itself raised money for cancer research; InterSING! became less of a rivalry between students from various high schools and more of a combined effort to raise money for a virtuous cause. However, after the mayoral transition from Bloomberg to de Blasio, the city’s approach to DOE funding changed, and InterSING! was put on the back burner.

Bringing back interschool SING! would transform SING! into a citywide vehicle for both competition and collaboration, amplifying the benefits of the existing competition. At its core, SING! functions as a structured organization for creative expression. By participating in such a diverse competition, students are able to find a niche that they enjoy, whether that be acting or a technical crew. They are able to meet other students who have similar interests as them, fostering connections that may not have occurred otherwise. An interschool SING! may reap the same benefits as the already established Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), creating an environment where competition fosters school spirit.  “I think an interschool SING! would definitely make it more competitive because you’re not only playing for your grade now, but for the entire school. When I play baseball, knowing I represent my school helps me play better and it actually matters how well we do,” junior and baseball team member Henry Portmann said. Like the PSAL for sports, an interschool SING! would function as a parallel program for the arts. 

Hosting InterSING! would, however, raise the logistical concern of how to judge the competition between schools. Currently, SING! is judged by a panel of ten Stuyvesant alumni each night who grade each show in a variety of categories (covering script, performances, and design aspects). Those point values are then added up with any point deductions to determine the total scores. However, alumni judging would risk favoring certain schools: instead, InterSING! could be judged by a panel of volunteers with experience in the theater industry. This would operate similarly to National History Day judging: volunteers could apply and be chosen to watch each school’s SING! and grade them. In the past, InterSING! was a competition between the winning grades’ SING! performances within individual schools, which then advance into a larger bracket. These performances could be recorded on each night, allowing volunteer judges to watch each winning show and determine the winners of the broader competition. 

When asked her opinion on the feasibility of InterSING!, senior SING! coordinator Joanne Hwang explained, “This is a very ambitious idea, though I do support it. A hurdle—especially if you want to get other schools involved and organize a citywide competition—is that not everyone funds the arts like Stuyvesant does.” A city-wide competition could raise concerns about inherent disadvantages through factors like economic circumstance and size. There are performing arts schools like LaGuardia that have a huge emphasis on theater, while there are others that are more STEM-centric, such as many of the specialized high schools. To make sure that funding was equitable for schools of all sizes and economic standing, the money could come from a standardized grant system run by the NYC DOE. 

Another issue to consider is how exactly interschool SING! would be publicized and organized for all schools to participate if they wished. It would be important to make sure that schools that do not currently have SING! programs would be able to participate, but it would be difficult to integrate them into the same competition as more seasoned schools. One possible solution would be to have a trial program for schools that already have SING! so that the competition process could be more streamlined before it expanded. “I’m curious to see a trial run with Townsend Harris, Murrow, and any other schools that do SING! because at a city level, it would be a competition of all winners and would foster a lot of spirit and school pride,” Hwang commented. Another option would be a sort of mentor program for more seasoned SING! schools to guide less experienced ones.

While interschool SING! is a lofty goal, its benefits would merit the effort it’d be to organize. It would greatly benefit NYC schools’ arts programs, raise school spirit, and allow for students from all over the city to have a chance to participate in a unique competition that encourages diversity and creativity.