The Sense Behind the Scenes

 

Actors. Costumes. Props. Lights. Music. Stage. These are the main things involved in any play, correct? Almost, but not quite. Who is doing the lights? The sound? Who makes sure the actors know what to do and where to be and when? Without stage managers and techies, even with everything else, there would be no plays or productions at all. These people are determined hard workers with to make sure that everything runs perfectly smooth with little to no flaws. Even if something goes wrong, it is quickly fixed with steady nerves and precision. 

“I took a deep breath and read the monitor, and just read which lights were which and just took it slow to reset my mistake,” sophomore booth worker David Phillips said.  

Of course, mistakes happen. These workers are just regular people after all. These jobs aren’t highly life threatening, but they do have some risk. 

“I’ve been extremely lucky not to be involved in any serious accidents,” sophomore Kaitlynn Hurt said. “but I do know some people who have been electrocuted or gotten broken bones.”  

These happenings are few and far between of course. However, many minor accidents can also occur between scene changes like a prop breaking, a costume ripping, or a troublesome mic that refuses to make sound.  

“Last year during Mamma Mia the bed prop we were using had wheels and they would lock in place so that it wouldn’t move, but one time the wheels broke and wouldn’t lock. There was a scene where an actress had to stand on the bed and we were terrified that it was going to move and she would fall,” junior Izzy FonfaraDrewel said. 

Yes, there are minor mishaps. But everything running perfectly every time without fail is very unrealistic to say the least. Not every mistake is serious, or even counted as a mistake at all and seen more as an event worthy of an anecdote in the future.  

Last year during the play we were really bored backstage because there wasn’t much for us to do so one of my friends brought a set of dominoes and we played during the show,” junior Izzy FonfaraDrewel said. “It got pretty intense, but we couldn’t really do anything about it because we had to be quiet.”  

Other things can also prove to not be an issue, but more of thing you will have to stifle laughter behind your hands as a result of the occurrence 

This year for the fall play we had a lot of boxes backstage to use as props,” junior Izzy FonfaraDrewel said. “Unfortunately, it’s very dark backstage so people kept tripping and falling over them, and it was hilarious.”  

Backstage shenanigans aside, everyone involved in backstage genuinely enjoys doing what they do. There is no awkward chill when it comes to newcomers, either. They are accepted as a part of the stage crew family and welcomed in without hesitation. 

“It’s a lot of fun and we’re a big family and super understanding,” sophomore David Phillips said. “It may be time consuming but it’s worth it.” 

A stage doesn’t take actors to make a play because if nobody else helped, it’d just be a bunch of people on a darkened stage saying random things. The whole crew gives the show the secret finishing spice needed to complete the recipe for a show while going unnoticed by the crowd and juggling other responsibilities. The devil may work hard, but the backstage crew will always work harder.