By JORIE MEIL – The curtain opens on an actress, standing in a bright spotlight, wearing a stunning costume, but who opened that curtain? Who made that costume? Who is working that spotlight? The stage crew of a production is responsible for all of these tasks. The stage crew covers many areas of production. The costume, props, lights, sound, scenic design and production, and stage management. All of these areas are essential to a successful show.
Arguably one of the most important parts of the stage crew is the stage management team. For the current show The Sound of Music that consists of two stage managers, one to cover stage left, and one to cover stage right. The stage right manager is senior Abby McCauley, and the stage left manager is junior Skylar Pruett. The stage management team is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the show, in order for it to run smoothly. Junior Sylar Pruett says, “I enjoy the tech side of theater because as soon as you add the tech element to a show it really brings everything together. I know that the show couldn’t go on without tech.”
Another part of the stage crew is the makeup/wardrobe crew. For the the spring musical that consists of the wardrobe head and the wardrobe/makeup team. The wardrobe head for this production is junior, Jacqueline Sprenger. The crew is made up of Lauren Boda, Laura Welch, Jorie Meil, Grace Wadding, and Abby Walker. The makeup and wardrobe crew is responsible for all of the costumes and makeup needs for the show. Freshman Grace Wadding says, “Costume and makeup adds life to a production, it helps fully transform the actors into the characters that they are portraying.” They help to select the costumes that the cast will be wearing in the show. The crew is also responsible for assisting the actors with any quick changes during the show.
Lights and sound are another very important technical aspect of a theatrical production. There are many different positions that make up this area, for this show there is a light board operator, a sound board operator, and two follow spot operators. The sound board is being controlled by junior Macey Phillips, the light board is being controlled by junior Elijah Satchell, the follow spots are sophomore Emma Cannillo and freshman Julian Yerger. The first part of the moiety is the lighting. The director designs the lighting, and then it is the light board operators job to execute the directors plan. The two people operating the follow spots have to always be paying attention, so that they know what and when they are to be doing something. The person operating the sound board is in charge of all of the sound cues. Sophomore Emma Cannillo says, “I like stage crew because it is fun, and I get to hang out with my friends.”
The last technical aspects that make up the tech crew for our current show The Sound of Music is the stage/props crew, and the fly deck. For the current performance the stage/props crew is made up of freshmen Arianna Goodyear, Hayley Henning, Reese McFarlane, and Danny Lee. The fly deck is made up of juniors Eric Griffith and Mia Lenzi. The stage/props crew is responsible for making sure props are where they are supposed to be, and for helping move set pieces on and off stage.
The tech crew for the musical is essential for a smoothly running show. Without them the show would not be able to run.
PHOTO BY JORIE MEIL
Photo caption: Tech crew members Grace Wadding, Emma Camillo, and Skylar Pruett have fun working on tech crew
