The lights dim, talking stops as the curtains rise. But what goes on past the actors and actresses, behind the set pieces? What happens behind the curtains?
A fun evening out watching a great production is the results of months of hard work by a very dedicated team. There are actors to cast, scripts to adjust, blocking to choreograph, sets to design and build, special effects to create, costuming to prepare, and lot’s of practicing.
All of this work requires teamwork. One important member of the team is the stage manager. Rose Bear, stage manager of multiple productions at Ridgeline High School says that stage crew doesn’t get enough recognition. A senior at Ridgeline she’s been a part of theater for a few years now, she keeps everyone backstage in line. Stage managers aren’t the only people backstage though. There’s stage crew, director, cast, light and sound.
Everyone knows what the cast and directors do. Cast are the actors and actresses that make the show a show. While the directors either create it or give direction. Light and sound are just as important, maybe even more so because they give the show life by setting the mood with special lights or giving the cast their music to dance and sing to. That brings us to the backbone of plays, stage crew. They build, paint and even move the set pieces that form landscapes, buildings, and rooms from one end of the stage to the other. Not only do they work hard but they get little to no recognition for it(same goes for light and sound).
Stage crew isn’t easy, set pieces fall, they usually end up redoing the paint or design for at least one piece, it takes a lot of commitment, cues are missed, a piece might break, something may get lost or misplaced, there might even be some drama, and small injuries may occur. Despite all of this, there are still people who enjoy the feeling of accomplishment they get when a show goes well or even the relief after it’s all over.
If it’s so hard and they do so much why don’t they get more recognition? Well it’s because people either don’t know about them or just don’t think about them because they aren’t in front of the audience ‘on stage’. I asked Rose if she had any solutions and she said to “have a video of stage crew play during intermission.” to let people know what goes on behind the scenes of the plays. It’s a good solution but not the only one, after a show there could be a party thrown celebrating the crew or a party for the crew.
