Courtesy of the A Cappella Council

This past Family Weekend, student performance groups filled Morrell Gymnasium for the Student Group Showcase, giving the audience a glimpse of what they have been working on this semester. The first part of the event featured individual performances from each of Bowdoin’s a cappella groups: the Bear Tones, BOKA, the Longfellows, the Meddiebempsters (Meddies), Miscellania (Missy) and Ursus Verses.

The showcase also included performances from several dance groups at Bowdoin, including the Cowboys, Bowdoin’s hip hop team, Polar Bear Swing Dance, the jazz dance group and VAGUE, Bowdoin’s contemporary dance group.

For many performers, the work began well before the night of the show. Tipton Hemingway ’28, a member of Missy since her first year, said the group does a sound check at Morrell early in the afternoon and runs through its performance. For the past three years, Missy has also hosted a parent potluck where the group practices its set and gives family members a sneak peek.

As showtime approached, the mood backstage stayed relaxed.

“[Right before the concert] normally we’ll go into the locker room area and warm up for a bit, or we’ll practice our song last minute or take a group picture or something,” Hemingway said. “And then it’s a super chill concert. It’s super fun because we get to be in the audience and watch everyone else.”

Preparation also led to a sense of confidence for the Meddies. Music director EJ Esmas ’27 said he felt confident going into the concert because of how much the group had rehearsed. He explained that he narrowed the set list on purpose, partly because of the group’s earlier parent performance.

“I tried to narrow [the set list] down … because we usually have a performance for the parents where we sing every song we know, and that was brutal,” Esmas said. “But then, going into the Family Weekend concert, knowing that we’d already done so well at [the parent performance], where the pressure was a lot higher, and we had a [larger] repertoire to sing through, I think we did really well.”

Esmas said the challenge is delivering a performance that feels fresh no matter how many times the group has sung it, and, for him, that is where the Meddies excel.

“We sing the songs so many times, but then [for] each audience, we have to treat it as if this is the first time they’re ever hearing the song,” Esmas said. “I think the energy of the Meddiebempsters is our big strength. It’s fun to watch us sing, and consistently having that aspect each time is something that I think is really important, and we definitely brought the energy. That’s what I’m really especially happy with.”

The dancers had their own kind of preparation. Jane Mautz ’29, who is in her second year on VAGUE, said the group begins preparing for the showcase as early as auditions, when the leaders put together a piece for potential members. After auditions, the group practices that same piece every week, adding choreography and cleaning it up as they go.

“It’s definitely very trusting of the process,” Mautz said. “It’s also just trusting in your people too. I feel like that’s a big part of dance. Kind of bouncing energy off of each other and just being present and being willing to put in your full effort. Because when everyone puts in their full effort, that’s when it goes super well.”

For many, the overlap of the showcase with Family Weekend makes it one of their biggest performances of the year. For VAGUE, it also marks the start of the performance season.

“It kind of does feel like the biggest [performance] because your parents are here watching it, and I feel like that’s really exciting for a lot of people,” Mautz said. “It’s also our first performance of the semester.”

VAGUE had the last spot in the lineup, which Mautz noted added some pressure. She reminisced about her first year in the group and how she had felt nervous for Family Weekend. This year, she knew exactly what to expect.

“I think [the performance] went fantastic. I feel like going last out of all the groups was a little bit hard. Having to sit there and just know that you’re performing soon is a little bit nerve-wracking. But we were all really proud of how it went, and we were really proud of our first years,” Mautz said.

For those who missed the a cappella groups or want to see them again, the next major opportunity is the Winter A Cappella Concert.

“There isn’t a big public showcase until the winter concert, but we do have a few more just peppered in,” Esmas said. “I’m very glad that we have so many things to sing at because that’s super fun. That’s what makes an a cappella group an a cappella group.”