Behind the Scenes of Working

by Rachel Lueder

  Picture a tree in your mind…what do you see? Big beautiful boughs, towering over Earth’s dark soil. A sea of green leaves on an endless number of intricately woven branches. What you usually wouldn’t think about are the roots. The roots are what keep the tree standing tall. They make sure water is evenly distributed throughout the trees’ branches. In the standpoint of a musical, the cast would be the branches and leaves, while the crew would be the roots.

  I sat down with Bryn Bowden (‘14), one of the stage managers from this years musical, to learn more. When asked about what the job of a stage manager entails, she told me of all her duties and those of the crew. I was intrigued at the amount of work put into the musical by the crew to make the show what it is. Right at the very start, the crew is busy making plots for lighting, sound, and for stage. They then make a prop list and scavenge around for all the things needed. If something on the list can’t  be found then it is the job of a crew member to build it. With the help of Mr. Urness and Mr. Swailes, the set for the musical begins to take shape. Things start to come together. Production is now in process. The crew is still busy, though. They have to move pieces of the set onstage, take them back offstage, and yell out lines to those who have forgotten them. Each crew member has a different responsibility. One crew member might have to remember to bring a box onstage, and another might have to remember to turn on a mic at a certain time.

  When asked what her favorite part about being on crew was, Bryn stated it was the family aspect of everything. “When you spend hours upon hours backstage with someone, you tend to get to know them really well.” said Bowden. Being in the cast, I can attest to the amount of hard work that goes into production. So the next time you see a bunch of black-clad people assemble on stage at the end of a show, make sure to give an extra hoot-an’-a-holler for those that dedicate their time and effort to make everything go as smoothly as possible.