The winter musical here at Loy Norrix is always an exciting way to get creative and have fun with performing. The actors put in hours and hours of work to perform for the school, but the people you don’t see on the stage put in just as much work to run the show. 

A lot of time is put into painting and building the sets for the musical. The week before the musical, all cast and crew members put in four-five hours of work every day in preparation. Every show requires some sort of set design, whether it be a few small props or a full-blown town. Since stage crew students attend every rehearsal from the beginning, they get to see all the bloopers before the final performance.

“I like to see the progress and how it develops,” said sophomore Kendyl Kirshman.

Being a part of stage crew gives you all access to the stage, lights, sound system and props. Everyone has their own specific job to do, but if someone needs a helping hand or a fill-in, someone is always willing to help. 

“I’m talking to Ms. Carrow about stuff and making sure the music is all together, and this year I have to learn how to do the soundboard. Instead of listening, I have to do it, so that’s going to be tough, and then I have to run back and make sure the batteries are running because if they are dead, I have to send people to run batteries back there.”  Sophomore Jayda Smith continued, “Sometimes I have to run the lightboard … it really depends on the day.”

One of the most hidden things about crew is the access to the auditorium ceiling. When you are in the auditorium, seats looking at the stage and watching the brightly lit actors perform, it’s easy to forget about the people following the actors around with a spotlight. In the sound booth, located in the back of the auditorium, there is a set of stairs that take you up into the ceiling. Once you are up in the ceiling you have to navigate around air ducts and beams. A skinny catwalk is all that you can walk on. There are four light stations and pillows to sit on because the catwalk can get very uncomfortable during a two hour performance day in and day out. If you look on the beams and certain air ducts there are past stage crew members’ names and the musicals they worked on. It’s a little piece of history that most people don’t know about. 

 The people behind the scenes are unspoken heroes. If there is a problem, one of the crew members is on it. Making sure the show runs smoothly is priority number one. Everyone has their own reason for joining tech crew. It may not have been students’ first option, but the stronger the team is, the better the show will run.

“I didn’t make the musical, so I wanted to join stage crew,” said sophomore Myah Walker.

“I like the behind the scenes aspect of it, it’s really fun running around making things happen,” said Smith. Having an all-access pass to backstage, lighting-sound booth and ceiling can be reason enough to join crew.

“Well my dad did crew in high school, and I don’t like going out on stage, so it’s a way for me to be involved but not on stage,” said sophomore Libby McFarlen.

Participating in tech crew is a good way to be a part of the performance, especially when you have stage fright or your talents aren’t particularly musical. Stage crew doesn’t just assist in school musicals, but they also work other performances in the auditorium from Candle Light ceremony at the end of the year, to the Choir Cabaret. 

“Joining stage crew has definitely changed my perspective of how much work is put into performances. It has really shown me who my real friends are,” said sophomore Vicky McGowan.