The SOS Stage

Sing-Out South had a pretty elaborate stage we performed on during our shows. From the photo above (click on it to enlarge it) which was taken during a performance at the Tennessee State Prison in the spring of 1966, you can see that besides the steps in front, it also had some large platforms (with more steps) for the cast to stand on and even some almost vertical risers in the back (not sure how those folks did the choreography on some of our songs!).

Nevertheless, it was an impressive sight, especially when the cast on stage was close to 200 performers. According to information from an article in THE NASHVILLE BANNER, the stage was designed by Paul Elliot, a special education teacher with Metro Schools along with Walter England of the Nashville Bridge Company. Some years later, England served as Metro Codes Director under Mayor Richard Fulton.

Much of the wood for the stage was donated by William Eller, a Metro motorcycle policeman. Officer Eller was a member of Newman's Raiders, a group of motorcycle cops who often escorted the buses of SOS and the national UWP casts on our way around,out of, or back into Nashville.

The stage was even taken to Estes Park, Colorado when our large Sing-Out South delegation went to the national conference there in June, 1966. Unlike a number of SOS members who were recruited to travel all over the nation and the world with the new national casts of UWP (Casts A,B & C), the stage returned to Nashville intact later that summer.

I remember coming to Mike Rourke's house one day to await the truck bringing the stage back and helping to unload it. My first jobs in Sing-Out South were working on the Stage Crew and selling PACE magazine and other materials at the show. The PACE job was easy, hauling around and setting up that stage was a job. It was very well built and very heavy. I don't think it was designed to be hauled around much. I think it was made to be set up and left on stage somewhere. It was quite sturdy.

The platforms also took some time and effort to set up as they had to be pieced together then securely bolted to each other and the rest of the stage to keep everything stable.

Over the years as the cast decreased a bit in size, the vertical risers were no longer used, but the stage was there and set up for every show and almost every practice.

Add it all up, the stage, the sound system, the microphones, the show signage, it was a lot to haul around, set up and store. A lot of the times I believe all these things stayed at Henry Swider's home, although for a while I believed we stored the stage and other equipment where we practiced. I know that was true when we practiced at the St. Thomas Hospital School of Nursing and it may have also been the case when we practiced at the Boiler Supply, the Quanset Hut above at the National Guard Armory and maybe while we were at Trevecca? Does anyone remember?

When SOS disbanded in 1971, I have no idea what happened to the stage. It might have wound up making some pretty good kindling wood, but it sure served us well over the years.