CREW-cial people to the production

At every play you go to, you see the beautiful actors on stage telling their story to the masses. You feel the fear as the thunder claps overhead and the lights flicker. You hear the soft sound of drizzling rain and see the scene change from a castle to the dark woods and the actors emerge…

As much as they would like you to believe that the effects magically happen, it takes the hard work and effort of the crew members to create these effects.

The ones that are conducting the equipment and scene changes are  the technicians that go above and beyond to deliver the best experience possible.

The stage technicians are students who specialize in lighting, sound, makeup,  costuming, and the wonderful backdrops.

“We literally build worlds. We also run the world and then let the actors live in it for a short time,” senior Thomas Kaplan said.

The technicians that work behind the scenes are the ninjas clad in black that seem to just appear and disappear. Moving props around and operating the effects are the easy part of a technician’s job.

Once the actual show starts, the hard work is behind the curtains.

“I mainly paint set pieces and ‘dutch’, or connect flats together. Then, during the play I move flats on and off the stage,” sophomore Lorena Carranza said.

Building sets for a performance can be hard work, but once the completed pieces are placed on stage, it brings the scenes to life.

“I enjoy what I do because I am helping others create an amazing show,” stage manager Madison Marrs said.

The crew also has fun doing their projects and their work has a little touch of their personality in the end result.

“Every set that I was a part of building, I made sure that there was a Patriots reference. Like having the keys for a doors being red and blue,” Kaplan said.

At the end of it all, the crew and cast members take part in an after-show cast and crew party.