Behind Closed Curtains: A Closer Look at the People Working Tirelessly To Make Reverie a Success

By: Chan Yu Xuan 

As May rolls around once more, excitement builds as the school starts getting ready for a major event. But no - it's not for another stressful exam. It’s for something even better! Reverie is just around the corner. Having kickstarted the month with the balloting results for Reverie, the hype only continues to build for one of our school’s best arts events. For those who are relatively new to the school, you may find yourself wondering, what even is Reverie? Well don’t fret, join me on a walk backstage to find out all you need to know about it!

Now, what exactly is Reverie? According to an interview with Phoebe Tan from 4A, the President of the Aesthetics council, Reverie is an annual event which “acts as a platform to recognise and showcase the performing arts in RV”. She expressed that Reverie is also “a great opportunity for RVians to support their friends performing and gather together on momentous evenings to appreciate the beauty of the arts”.

Fun fact: did you know that Reverie is conducted almost entirely by students? According to Phoebe, while Mrs Catalina Yeow (the HOD of Aesthetics) and Mr Justin Xiong (the Subject Head for the Aesthetics Department) oversee the entire event, the Aesthetics Council is in charge of planning programmes, administrative matters, logistics as well as publicity, while matters regarding the ushers, backstage crew, emcees and the food are all handled by the teachers. So who exactly are these amazing students and how do they knit the net of Reverie’s success? 

First off, we have the Aesthetics council. Starting from around February, they have worked tirelessly to plan the entire event, from how the stage is set up to how the performances are lined up and even the process of balloting for tickets! As the masterminds behind Reverie, they sure have a huge burden on their shoulders, having to balance it along with their studies and external responsibilities, so major kudos to them. Next up, let's hear from the stars of the show themselves, the performing arts CCAs! 

A post on the Instagram page of RV Aesthetics Council announcing the results for the balloting of tickets to Reverie 2025.

(Photo Credits: RV Aesthetics Council’s Instagram page) 

According to various interviews conducted with members of Choir (25J19 Chrystal Chia), Guitar Ensemble (25J05 Gwendolyn Sii), Band (25J03 Vivian Lee), Chinese Orchestra (25J03 Ng Leshin), and ELDDS (4E Ally Koh), here are my findings of what goes on behind the scenes during their training. For some CCAs, they made the choice to recycle their SYF pieces for Reverie, making good use of the feedback obtained from the judges at SYF to improve certain areas in preparation for it. 

Some CCAs also took into account other factors, such as wanting to “shift the focus” to let certain members of their CCA have “their time to shine”. The popularity and difficulty levels of the pieces was also considered, taking into account the newer JAE members joining, and the Sec 1s and whether they will be able to get their performance pieces ready in time for Reverie. In some CCAs like ELDDS, even minute details such as the chemistry between the cast were considered!

In most CCAs, their training was restricted to the days that they had CCA. However, for others like Band and ELDDS, they had to go for additional training on Monday mornings, Saturdays and even during the March Holidays. 

With respect to the choice of which CCA’s performance goes on which day, the Aesthetics council had reportedly “tried to have an even distribution of sec and JC CCAs on both nights, as well as different forms of performing arts (eg dancing, singing, instrumentals, acting)”. However, with the clashing of BSP trips and the effect of polling day, they had “had to prioritise letting the JC CCAs perform on night 1 to be safe and try to give everyone the chance to perform”.

With how most of them have been training for SYF and/or Reverie since February or even October last year, their efforts will surely pay off upon seeing the smiles on the faces of the audience.  

ELDDS, rehearsing diligently for Reverie.

(Photo Credits: ELDDS)

Guitar Ensemble, rehearsing in the music room.

(Photo Credits: Guitar Ensemble’s YouTube page)

JC Choir, rehearsing at an external venue for SYF

(Photo Credits: Chrystal Chia, 25J19)

A little birdie told me that Reverie also had help from some CCAs that weren’t Aesthetics CCAs! But who exactly are they, and what are they doing here? 

Firstly, we have the Uniformed Groups. Every year, the Aesthetics council enlists help from our 5 uniformed group CCAs, namely the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Girl Guides (GG), National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), Scouts, and St John Brigade (SJB) with help in doing various tasks. Well, what are these tasks you may ask? From working to set up the stage in between performances to ushering, they certainly lend multiple pairs of helping hands in the process. This is all done under the watchful eyes of the teachers and the Aesthetics council’s resident Programmes head and members, so fret not, everything is well taken care of! 

In this sense, Reverie also acts as an event where cadets of different CCAs get to come together and interact, forming meaningful friendships with cadets from other UGs. For SJB in particular, they were previously asked to do public first aid duty for Reverie as well as various other important school events, but in recent years the school has, citing concern for their class activities, dismissed them from their role of first aiders. This just means that rather than helping out front with safety patrol, SJB has switched to a more behind-the-scenes role with respect to first aid duties. Still, if you or anyone near you sustains an injury which requires first aid assistance, do feel free to look for anyone from SJB as I’m sure they would be willing to help! 

Backstage helpers from RVSJB, posing on the stage in-between backstage duties for Reverie 2024.

(Photo Credits: RVSJB backstage crew member of Reverie 2024)

Secondly, we have the AV crew. From handling the lights and sound system, to setting up the mic stands, it’s safe to say they play an irreplaceable role in Reverie. Within the control room at the very top of the auditorium, they ensure that everything tech related goes smoothly. 

Did you know, the tables set up in the middle of the auditorium actually serve as an “extension” of the control room? It is placed there to allow the AV crew to hear and control everything better and make adjustments accordingly, while also providing them with a better perspective on how the audiences’ experience is like. In total, they usually take about 2 hours to set up everything that is needed. According to them, just turning on the system alone takes 30-45 minutes! Personally, I feel that AV is one of the unsung heroes behind Reverie, as even with all the hard work they put in, they are mostly only brought to the spotlight when technical issues occur. 

The AV crew at the tables in the middle of the auditorium, making sure that the technological aspect of Reverie 2023 goes smoothly.

(Photo Credits: Yu Xuan, 25J05)

Now that I’ve covered the various teams behind Reverie and the effort each of them put into it, let's talk about Reverie itself. 

Some concerned parents may ask: For an event that is so late at night (6:30 to 9:30 PM), and with so many people involved, especially with it being open to the public, is it even safe? Well, of course it is! And the UG ushers and Organising Committee are here to ensure that. By checking the tickets of, and stamping a temporary heart shaped stamp on every ticket, their attention to detail is what keeps us safe. In the auditorium, as all of us have our eyes trained on our friends performing on stage, they in turn keep an eye out for us, ensuring that we are safe and alright. 

For those of us who’ve had to stay back in school for long enough, I’m sure we'd all be familiar with the announcements that go off at 6:00PM and 6:30PM respectively telling us to stop all our activities and leave the school grounds by 7:00PM, which is the time the school closes. Having stayed back long enough before, I can attest to the fact that the classrooms and stairwells are all diligently locked up by the staff from the General Office before they go home for the night. Rest assured, they will be doing the same on both nights of Reverie as well, so you don’t have to worry about any suspicious persons sneaking around and causing any potential harm to us students! Just make sure you get down to level 1 before 7:00PM, or you’ll risk getting locked in the upper levels of the school blocks…

With that, I hope that you now have a greater appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into organising Reverie! For those attending, see you at Reverie 2025 on the 16th or 23rd of May! Do note that while the concert starts at 6:30, the doors to the auditorium open at 5:30. It is recommended for you to be on time as they may bar you from entering the auditorium after the doors close, and I’m sure that no one would want to miss out on this precious opportunity to watch our friends and peers perform! And for the rest of us who unfortunately weren’t as lucky in obtaining tickets, don’t worry, there’s still next year!