On Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. the Student Activities Council hosted the 24th annual Variety Show at the Civic Center in Jackson, Tenn.
This year’s Variety Show featured numerous acts, both competing and performing. The event has consistently been one of the largest of the year for Union University. Students attended, alumni returned and families traveled from across the country to see the performance.
Ella Reed, a sophomore conservation biology major, performed for a second year with her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, which won the competition. Performing in front of hundreds of people, including many peers, can be daunting.
Reed responded to the pressure by telling herself, “This is just normal practice, we just got to do the best we can.” Her optimism helped calm her nerves and allowed her to perform with a clear mind.
Year after year, students, alumni and families continue to come back to watch Variety Show.
“It is just a really fun experience in general,” Reed said.
Beyond entertainment, the event also opened new opportunities for students.
“It brings me closer to a lot of different Zetas that I wouldn’t have normally talked to or wouldn’t be around that much,” Reed said. “It just brings you so much closer, and I love it.”
Claire Windham, a junior social work major and Student Activities Council president, dedicated many hours to the event and has attended for three years as a SAC member. The council is known for hosting various events each year, but Variety Show stands out to many students.
“I think what makes it so special is that it is equal opportunity for Greek Life and non-Greek Life. The whole point of Variety Show is to pull people from every corner of campus together,” Windham said.
This year was considered especially notable due to acts that had not previously participated.
“We had four Greek Life organizations, but we also had acts like Second Act Theater Company,” Windham said. “So, this was a great opportunity for them to showcase a really cool thing that they get to do, and they’re really talented at it too.”
Because the Variety Show is held annually, keeping the event fresh can be a challenge.
“I think the people who are most important about keeping it fresh each year are the directors of the individual acts. It is up to them to decide how we are going to change it up this year,” Windham said. “I think a lot of the time people like the tradition of it. But we saw diversity in the performing acts and having people who have never performed before.”
The Student Activities Council works each year to introduce new ideas to keep the event engaging and distinct.
“We have to diversify it by reaching out to more and more people every year. This year, we even made a list of possible act ideas.” Windham said.
Emily Baker, a junior digital media communications major, performed with her sorority, Kappa Delta, and directed their performance, earning the Best Director award. In addition to performing, directing added another level of responsibility.
“I mean we all have a goal of being the most entertaining as possible and ultimately with us competing we have another goal in mind we want to tell a great, unique and creative story and also display what we can do,” Baker said.
As director, Baker emphasized intentionality, aiming not only for a strong performance but a meaningful representation of her group.
“As the director, I strive to make a story or create a show that I knew would represent the girls in my sorority well, me as a person, as well as our organization in general,” Baker said.
Variety Show received strong support, with guests continuing to discuss the event in the days following the performance. Performers also expressed pride in their work and their organizations.
“Honestly, I think that each year gets better and better,” Windham said.