Members of several University of Memphis fraternity and sorority chapters will take the stage to perform songs and dances at this year's Greek Sing.
Greek Sing, which will take place in the Elma Roane Field House gymnasium on Sunday is a philanthropy event in which teams of different fraternities and sororities will perform songs and dances.
These teams, with one fraternity paired with one sorority, must choose a theme for their performance and then pick songs to sing that correlate with the theme. They must also choreograph and perform their own dances to go with the music.
Individual teams will also design a set that correlates with their individual performance.
The teams will be competing for awards in different categories such as Best Set Design or Best Overall. Points will be allotted in the different categories with additional points being awarded to the teams that raised the most money.
All proceeds of the event will go to Relay for Life, a non-profit organization that benefits the American Cancer Society.
Luke Enzor, co-director of the Sigma Chi and Alpha Delta Pi team and sophomore film and video major, said Greek Sing is one of the biggest philanthropy events of the year.
"People like to come support their friends, brothers and sisters when they try to raise money," Enzor said. "We are really excited to be both performing and raising money to battle cancer."
Enzor has been rehearsing with his team every weeknight for over two weeks to train his team in several different areas of performance.
"The first time I ever directed a play was my senior year of high school," Enzor said. "But I believe that gave me experience with directing people who have never dealt with live performance before."
The All Unity Board, an organization that unifies the different fraternity and sorority councils and organizes events that they participate in, organized Greek Sing. Charles Uffelman, a member of the All Unity Board, said that it took a lot of work to get Greek Sing in motion.
"We started planning the event in January, which is a bit later than usual," Uffelman said. "Now we are checking the teams' financial statements to make sure they are under the spending cap. This week, however, we are focused on selling tickets and setting up the sound and lighting."
Elizabeth Johns, an undecided freshman, explained that preparing for Greek Sing took many hours of dedicated rehearsal.
"For the first two weeks, we were allowed to practice for up to 15 hours," Johns said. "Now we have unlimited practice time leading up to the event, which may very well exceed 15 hours."
Johns urges people to know that Greek Sing is family-friendly.
"Sometimes people hear the U of M Greek organizations are holding an event and might expect the worst, but Greek Sing is a family-friendly event for charity," Johns said.
Jack Dudley, a freshman business science major, believes the preparations for Greek Sing have been fun.
"It's a lot more work than I expected," Dudley said. "We rehearse almost every night, so I have to prioritize schoolwork versus rehearsals."
Although Dudley has been more mindful of his homework, he believes the cause makes it all worthwhile.
"Greek Sing is great," Dudley said. "It all goes towards Relay for Life, which is a great cause and I'm glad I am a part of it."
Greek Sing will take place in the Elma Roane Field House gymnasium Sunday. Doors open at 4:15 p.m. and performances will start at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10, and students can buy them in the University Center All Unity Board booth or the day of the event.
