Now Presenting… The 2025 SING! Coordinators

It’s that time of year again! Due to selection of the three coordinators, the 2025 SING! season is now underway. Students from all grade levels will work in one of three teams to create, cast, operate, rehearse, and perform an original, hour-long musical. Each of the teams correspond to grade levels: SophFrosh (sophomores and freshmen working together), Junior, and Senior. 

The coordinators are responsible for managing their whole grade’s production, from overseeing producer and writer applications to ensuring everyone abides by the rules. They were selected after a thorough vetting process from the Student Union (SU) and SU coordinator Matthew Polazzo. This year’s coordinators are Emma Ching (SophFrosh), Joanne Hwang (Junior), and Rayen Zhou (Senior).

SophFrosh SING!: Emma Ching

This year’s SophFrosh SING! Coordinator is sophomore Emma Ching. Ching’s journey with SING! began last year when she served as a SophFrosh producer. That experience gave her a front-row seat to the vibrant, tight-knit community that SING! creates. “After watching Senior SING!, I was moved by the emotion it evoked and was inspired to create a show of similar magnitude,” Ching said. “There is something special about watching a grade—or, in this case, two grades—come together to create something original and meaningful that everyone can be proud of.”

Ching’s favorite memory from SING! last year was in its final moments. “When the curtains closed on the last night of SING!, everyone was jumping up and down and chanting, ‘SophFrosh SING!, SophFrosh SING!’” Ching said. “It was a bittersweet moment—months of hard work had led to this, and it was all over. When people talk about post-SING! depression, they are not lying.”  

Now as a coordinator, Ching is preparing to lead her team towards another unforgettable production. While the SophFrosh Slate—the coordinator’s team of student producers and supervisors—is yet to be selected, Ching has already begun brainstorming ideas for this year’s show. She also encourages students to submit their ideas via the SophFrosh Themes Google Form. 

As a coordinator, Ching will oversee a wide range of responsibilities, from scheduling and budgeting to appointing producers and directors and ensuring smooth rehearsals. “Organization and time management are of the utmost importance to staying on task and managing all of my responsibilities,” she said. “I think it’s also important to delegate tasks to your Slate, who are there to help.”

One challenge Ching anticipates is balancing the dynamic between the two grades, which is a unique aspect of SophFrosh SING!. “Sometimes it seems like there is a power imbalance,” she said. “However, working with another grade can be a learning or teaching experience that makes the SING! community even stronger.”

To ensure clear communication among the various crews and directors, Ching plans to introduce Slack as a central hub for all SING! related manners. “It will keep everything in one place and be easily accessible for everyone,” she said.

Ching is also drawing on valuable lessons from past coordinators. “One lesson that I have always valued is that it is okay to not know,” she said. As a coordinator, she recognizes that others, either directors or crew members, may have more expertise in certain aspects of SING!, which is important to acknowledge by asking questions and trusting others. Her leadership also centers around inclusivity and transparency.

Looking ahead, Ching is most excited about connecting with new participants and fostering a welcoming environment. “I’m excited to meet and work with new people who not only offer new perspectives and ideas but whom I can connect and bond with,” she said.

As for her goals for SophFrosh SING! 2025, Ching prioritizes community over competition. “Even though it is a competition and it is always fun to win, I think building a strong community where everyone enjoys being part of SING! is more important,” she said. “I hope SING! is something that people can look forward to at the end of a long school day and look back on with fond memories.”

Junior SING!: Joanne Hwang

This year’s Junior SING! Coordinator is Joanne Hwang. Hwang first joined SING! in her freshman year as a producer. “That was probably one of the highlights of my life,” Hwang said. “I wasn’t really a theater kid, but the atmosphere and the number of people involved in SING! really amazed me.” 

Last year marked her first time coordinating SophFrosh SING!—a transition that had some new challenges. “It was incredibly stressful,” she said. “But it is such a rewarding experience because of the people you’re surrounded by; they put in hours of work on weekends and after school to create something special. That’s why I love SING!. I love the people.”

Hwang recalls her favorite SING! memory was her cameo in last year’s show where she dressed up as an inflatable cow for a comedic chase scene. “Rehearsing that scene and choreographing it—shout out to [junior] Amanda Greenberg for her amazing choreography—was the best part. We laughed so much while practicing,” she said.

Looking ahead to this year’s production, Hwang is both excited and a little nervous. “It’s junior year, so we have fewer people,” she said. Junior year is widely known to be one of the most academically challenging, and many Stuyvesant students find it difficult to balance the pressure with the commitment required for SING!. “That means we have to balance our ambition with the reality of a smaller crew and dance team. Quality over quantity will be key,” Hwang said. 

Despite these challenges, she is eager to take advantage of her growing experience. “I guess now that I actually know what I’m doing as a coordinator compared to last year, I’m more able to adjust to the people around me; I know them better and I’m more comfortable with them,” she said. 

Hwang’s leadership philosophy focuses on collaboration and adaptability during her time as coordinator. Even if there’s less juniors in SING! 2025, Hwang’s determined to give it her all. “We’ll be able to plan for bigger, more ambitious, and flashier things, and hopefully that will make something better,” she said.

Senior SING!: Rayen Zhou

This year’s Senior SING! Coordinator is Rayen Zhou. Zhou first participated in SING! during his freshman year as a producer before becoming coordinator in his sophomore and junior years. 

Zhou has enjoyed his time doing SING! in previous years. “Every year it’s been an incredible experience: being able to work with others in SophFrosh with two grades and with your own grade as juniors or seniors,” Zhou said.

As coordinator, Zhou would like to emphasize the collaborative nature of SING!—he believes it to be a really special experience and a crucial part of putting on such a large show. “You get a lot of camaraderie and your grade spirit, and that’s always been a takeaway and always what I sort of emphasize and develop as coordinator—this sense of team and gradewide unity,” Zhou said.

Managing a large production like SING! is a tough task for any coordinator to approach. Zhou sees his role as a delegator—someone who can make decisions when it counts but is also able to loosen his grasp and defer decisions to those who know more about minute show details than he does. “I think that delegation is certainly the key component to managing such a large production,” Zhou said. 

Zhou also believes in the importance of adapting to a variety of problems that may arise. “Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow or the week after? So being able to take things reasonably well and really tackle problems step by step—that’s the second huge component to managing such a large production,” Zhou said.

Additionally, Zhou hopes to continue improving by looking at and addressing problems from previous years, as well as listening to feedback from directors, producers, and members to see what they feel could be done better. “I feel like there were certainly some challenges last year that I would definitely address. Every year, try to improve; I think that’s sort of the only way to do it,” Zhou said.

This year, Zhou urges his fellow seniors to participate in SING!. He hopes they will make the most of their last year at Stuy by participating, even if they haven’t participated in SING! or done any form of theater in the past. “That’s the one thing I would emphasize: get involved, even if you have no experience at all. Even if you feel you don’t necessarily have a particular skill that you can contribute, I think you definitely do, and my goal is to get more people to do SING!,” Zhou said.