The new season of “Glee” starts next Tuesday night, and Kari Baker, member of the Ambassadors and junior said, “I can’t wait for the new season of ‘Glee’ to start. Only a few more days, and it’s back on every week.” Baker says she connects with the characters on the show because she has been performing with show choir and dance all her life. “Glee” is one of her favorite shows because of the drama, characters and music. However, the only aspect of the show she said she doesn’t like is how “Glee” portrays show choir differently from how she experiences it.

Baker is not the only student who feels this way; many of the other show choir members have trouble explaining the fun they have behind hours of rehearsal and cheesy smiles. “Glee” creates its own images about show choir that at times can accurately portray choir here at CHS, but that may not be an accurate depiction of show choirs anywhere. That perception affects the views of non-choir members throughout the school, both positively and negatively. Especially since the fictional rival school against which the “Glee” characters compete is named after CHS, those perceptions are even more vivid.

Show’s popularity spills over

On the positive side, the songs from “Glee” and their popularity help the image of show choir, according to Baker.

“I know a lot of people watch ‘Glee’ only for the story, but others just want to listen to the songs,” Baker said. “I have almost all of them on my iPod and sing them around the house. Some people might not say that they do too, but if more people start singing in their rooms because of ‘Glee,’ they might want to join choir to see what it’s really like.”

In addition to popularizing and covering songs, “Glee” also has some choir members dreaming of a life like the show.  Madeline Brown, member of Accents and junior, said sometimes choir class gets boring with the same types of songs and jazz hands, but with “Glee” she can escape.

“Mostly I just watch the show ’cause it’s fun to imagine performing all those songs, and I bet there are other people in choir and some people not in choir who imagine the same things,” Brown said.

Choir director Lamonte Kuskye said the show has not had quite the effect that Baker and Brown dreamed of, but the effects have been nothing but positive.

“Glee”ful realizations

According to Kuskye, although show choir has been popular in the Midwest for a while, “Glee” only helps that popularity spread across the country. Without the show’s popularity, many choir  students were already interested show choir. This heightened interest in show choir also helps to spread the name of the Carmel Ambassadors and Accents, not only because the show references Carmel, but also because the two competition show choirs are two of the best in the country. Now, people want to be associated with top show choirs, according to Kuskye.

“Soon after ‘Glee’ first aired, I started getting calls from MTV, ‘America’s Got Talent,’ and companies from L.A. wanting to do reality shows based on Carmel,” Kuskye said. “(The other choir directors and I) started joking about who would call next because there were so many calls. Unfortunately, all they wanted was drama, and I didn’t want them to make things up about the kids just to get good ratings. But it’s still a thrill to know that it’s our name people are seeing everywhere, and it’s all because of the show,” Kuskye said.

Kuskye also said that the reason the show isn’t having too much of an effect here is because show choir and other performing arts are already so important in this community. He said the talent has always been here, but “Glee” is putting show choir into the spotlight for everyone everywhere to see. Even without the show, people are still interested in singing, but he said there are probably a handful of members who joined because of the show’s influence on peoples’ views of show choir.

Still, although “Glee” has had many positive effects, many show choir members here said they don’t like some of the images the show creates. According to Marissa Ehrlich, member of the Accents and senior, “Glee” doesn’t relate to Carmel that much.

Ehrlich said, “The main similarity is that it shows others how fun show choir is. I love it because I love all the characters and it exposes others to show choir, but if you think that’s all there is to show choir, then you really have no idea. ‘Glee’ exaggerates everything way too much, and it’s not an accurate portrayal of show choir, at least not choir here at Carmel.”

Some perceptions are just not true

Ehrlich said she doesn’t like that the “Glee” characters have a reputation of being inferior because it might make people look down on the choirs. However, Kuskye said he doesn’t think the negative views of the characters carries over to Carmel.
Kuskye said the idea that show choir kids are inferior has to do with show choir’s reputation over the years, but at CHS, choir kids don’t need to worry about making up the bottom of the pack. Even without “Glee,” Kuskye said that the school respects the Carmel choirs.

Baker, Brown, Ehrlich and Kuskye all said they agreed that the amount of rehearsal time on the show doesn’t compare to how much choirs here rehearse. However, the amount of time given in an hour-long episode is not enough time to show the hard work put into each Ambassador and Accent performance. During competition season, the competing choirs rehearse at least twice a week after school in addition to normal class every other day, according to Kuskye. Individuals also practice to make sure every last step is up to expectations.

Ehrlich said, “(The characters) just know the entire songs and choreography in two seconds like it just popped into their heads at the same time. I know it’s only a show, but they could try and make it seem more realistic. Any (CHS) choir member would say it takes more work to be in one of the two top choirs (at CHS) than the amount of work the kids do on “Glee.”

Still, students said they continue to watch the show for several reasons. The plot’s originality may be one of the reasons students tune in season after season. Kuskye said much of the interest is probably because “Glee” is the only show out there about show choir, but it also relates to teens. While it focuses on choir, the show keeps its relatability with drama, Kuskye said.

For Baker, the show is one of her favorites because it’s fun to watch, but it also helps other people see why singing and performing are worth the effort. It also gives fans who aren’t members of a show choir a larger appreciation of the effort that goes into making only one performance great.

She said, “Yeah, I guess ‘Glee’ is just a show about singing and show choir, and, I mean, most of it would never happen in real life, but it’s not too different from Carmel. The ‘Glee’ kids do what they love, and so do we. Even if watching doesn’t make you want to join show choir, at least it lets people understand show choir a little bit better.”