Claire Crocker in second year with show
When the Wisconsin Singers return to Clintonville High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, they will be joined by Claire Crocker, a 2016 CHS graduate.
A senior industrial engineer major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Crocker is in her second year with the Wisconsin Singers as a singer and dancer.
“The first thing I did to kickstart my second year of Singers was to audition again at the end of last May,” Crocker said in a press release. “Each year, troupe members will go through the audition process again to exhibit our growth throughout the year and show our commitment to another year in this group. An interesting part of Singers is that we perform a select few shows in the summer. While my second year in the group was gearing up to start, I was still performing ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ with the 2018-19 group.”
Summer camps
After auditions, members of the troupe attend three “camps” during the summer.
Each camp helps them prepare for their concert season and bond with the other performers.
At Vocal Camp, they do a run-through of all the songs in the show.
“Our artistic director, who carefully handpicks and creates our show, sits with us and explains his vision for each song as we sing through them,” Crocker said. “We leave that weekend with materials to keep us on track both vocally and physically.”
The second camp focuses on learning dance techniques with Michael Stanek, artistic director for the Singers.
“Our artistic director also happens to be our choreographer, and he began by teaching us the basics of tap dance and then moved into some baseline choreography he planned to use in the show,” Crocker said.
There are four tap dance numbers in this year’s show, “Hold On To Your Dreams.”
Production Camp is the longest at 18 days.
“Each day began with vocal warm-ups led by our vocal captain, physical warm-ups/stretching led by our dance captains, as well as across exercises which involve practicing basic dance movements,” Crocker said. “From there, we went right into learning new choreography and practicing what we had already learned.”
On the last day of Production Camp, the performers present a rough version of the show for their friends and family in a small performance building on campus.
“This is technically our first performance of the season, and it happens just a few days before school starts,” Crocker said. “It’s a very exciting feeling to perform a new show for a real audience for the first time, especially after 18 days of working so hard to produce something great.”
For the first few months when the semester starts, the Singers rehearse about eight hours every Sunday.
“Our time is spent fixing dance moves and vocals that weren’t quite right in the previous week and working to make a cohesive show. We typically perform a run of the entire show at the end of each rehearsal,” Crocker said.
During the first semester, the Singers perform for the UW Parents Weekend, in the Homecoming Parade and at the Overture Center in Madison.
They spend the second semester travelling to communities throughout Wisconsin and are scheduled to perform 28 shows.
Coming to Clintonville
“I can’t wait to make my way back to Clintonville for another great year of Wisconsin Singers,” Crocker said.
Before the show, the Singers will hold an interactive clinic with CHS students.
“We send sheet music to the students ahead of time so they can learn it,” Crocker said. “Once we are on site, we teach them a dance to go along with the music, and then we all perform it together on stage before we begin our show.”
After the clinic, the students have time to ask questions.
Then the Singers have dinner, provided by Crocker’s parents, Lions Club members and choir students.
“After dinner, we begin doing hair, makeup and changing into costumes while the students who are the opening act (CHS Show Choir) will soundcheck with our sound engineer,” Crocker said.
“Once we are all dressed and ready to go, we do a final physical and vocal warm-up to make sure we are completely prepped for the show. Then, we head to the stage to take our places,” she said.
“After the show, we greet family and friends, sell Wisconsin Singers apparel, recruit prospective Singers candidates, strike the stage and load the bus,” Crocker added.
The Singers will stay overnight in Clintonville to avoid the long bus ride back to Madison, then back out in the morning for another long bus ride to another high school for a Saturday night show.
They will then return to Madison, and then another bus ride for a Sunday afternoon performance.
“I love what I do and get immense joy out of performing,” Crocker said. “I’m so glad I can share my experience with all of you, and I look forward to seeing you in Clintonville on Valentine’s Day. Thank you so much for your support of me and the Wisconsin Singers.”
Wisconsin Singers tickets on sale
Advance tickets for the Wisconsin Singers Feb. 14 performance are now available.
Tickets are are $10 for adults and $5 for students age 18 and younger.
A special Family Pack — for a maximum of two adults and four children living in the same household — will also be available for $25, a savings of up to $15 from the
individual ticket prices. Any available tickets purchased at the door the night of the show will be $2 more each.
Tickets can be purchased Clintonville at B&H Fashionwear, Erickson, Tadych’s, CHS School Office, the Clintonville Chamber of Commerce, Marion Advertiser, and Charlies County Market.
They can also be purchased online at the Eventbrite.com website.