Paul WilliamsWhile most thespians prefer to be in the spotlight there is a whole other world, right around back.
SETTING:
7:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
One light hits the stage only two days before opening night of “Boy gets Girl.” Dress rehearsal is being held during what most call “hell week,” the week before the show when practices are held every night and run into all hours of the evening.
7:15 p.m.
ENTER: Amanda Snow, stage manager and a current junior, informs the cast and crew as to how much time they have until the run of the show will begin.
Snow: Fifteen minutes!
7:18 p.m.
ENTER: Stagehand Devon Spratling, a sophomore, is running through the progression of scenes just to be sure he knows what set pieces are needed. Neal Newman, stage director, sits in the audience, taking in the tense atmosphere. “Chaos? I don’t see any chaos,” says Newman.
7:22 p.m.
ENTER: Haven McMickle, student director, is seen on the sidelines rechecking props.
Newman: We’re missing an actor?
Snow, referring to actress Laura Giorlando who plays the role of Detective Becht: Laura has no voice at all?
7:25 p.m.
Snow: Five minutes to curtain!
Newman: Devon has something new and we have to put it in the set.
7:26 p.m.
Stagehand Chris Friel, a freshman, places a new picture center stage.
7:29 p.m.
Snow: Places!
Newman: No, we have a problem. Technical difficulties.
A readjusted stage causes last minute changes.
7:55 p.m.
Snow: PLACES!
The mumbles fade, as Spratling takes deep, cleansing breaths; preparing for show time. “Getting to do all this craziness, I thrive on this. Smell that? Smells like victory,” says Spratling.
The lights dim and the show begins.
8:00 p.m.
In the lighting and sound booth, Snow and Suzanne Euler, a sophomore, concentrate on getting their cues right, yet this is only beginning.
8:03 p.m.
Backstage Giorlando is waiting for her cue at the end of scene one. Giorlando, actor Brian Fry, a junior, and Ashley Koch, actress and current freshman, all act as stage crew members when they are not on stage. Actress Marian Gibfreid, a sophomore, runs out of the room in a very pale state.
8:04 p.m.
Koch: Marian’s not feeling too good.
Fry: She’s okay. She doesn’t go on for three more scenes.
Koch asks Fry to take over stage crew duties while she takes care of Gibfreid.
Stage crew is often overlooked when considering the production of a show. They build, they set, they run, and they get half as much credit as the performers, but it’s fun. “I actually like doing this stuff,” Euler said.
In the words of Giorlando, “The better play’s backstage.”
