Technology: the backbone of theatrical productions

Seventh-grader Andie Miller tests the spotlight prior to the rehearsal

Niyathi Vadlapatla

Seventh-grader Andie Miller tests the spotlight prior to the rehearsal

Actors hurry to the back of the Lecture Hall, where they are handed small, tan, microphones. Voices fill the air as sound crew members help actors adjust mics. The lights dim, and the spotlight shines on an actor.

This was the scene in the Lecture Hall as students rehearsed for the RCMS musical, Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Technology played a big role in the production of the musical, which students had the opportunity to watch on May 3, 4 and 5.

“The crew is like the backbone of the show,” said Mr. Bickford, the drama teacher. He believes light and sound are equally important, but the most important in the whole production. Because of this, it’s very important that the technical crew doesn’t make any mistakes.

“I really like tech stuff, it can make or break a show,” Mr. Bickford said.  “Lights and sound, they cover up the mistakes made by actors, but it’s really hard to cover up the light and sound mistakes.”

Julia Finkbeiner is an eighth-grader at RCMS. She handles one of the two spotlights used in the musical.

“It is easier to cover up a mistake onstage than to cover up a light not going on,” she said.

To be a part of the cast or crew, students filled out a selection sheet and ranked what they wanted to do for the production.

Alex Long is an RCMS eighth-grader, and runs the lighting on the lighting board.

“Mr. Bickford decided I was a good choice for this job, as I was already comfortable with the equipment and I enjoyed running lights,” she said.

When it comes to which part of the production is easier, light, sound or acting, the technical crew isn’t all on the same side.

Meghan Toner is a seventh-grader on the sound team. She feels that light, sound and acting onstage are equally hard, because all three of them are essential to the musical.

Julia Finkbeiner said, “Sound is definitely harder because you have to deal with music, microphones, sound effects, and more. Lights, at least spotlights, are just flipping a switch.”

Alex shared the opposite view, “I’d say lighting is harder in general. You have to make sure that it goes hand in hand with the sound perfectly in order to have a strong effect on the audience,” she said, “We do everything from allowing the audience to see what’s happening, to controlling their emotions about what’s happening.”

Meghan explained that without the sound crew, there would be no mics, it would be harder to hear the actors, and there would be no music.

The technical crew overall, had similar pros and cons to their experience on the crew of “Fiddler on the Roof Jr.”

“Pros are being able to see the play so much and cons are having nothing to do for a lot of the play,” Julia said.

Alex also agrees with Julia about being idle for a long part of the play.

“Definitely one of the pros is that we control a huge part of the show. However, it can be simple and even boring at times, as it becomes repetitive,” Alex said, “Also, we don’t receive much recognition, although we make the show possible.

Meghan said, “We aren’t seen by the audience, so we don’t have the pressure, but we have a lot of stress on us, because we can’t improvise. It’s either we get it right, or we don’t.”

“You don’t have a lot of stuff to do, but you can make new friends,” Anide said.

Overall, the lighting and sound crew enjoyed their experience as a part of the musical.

“I enjoyed being able to decide pretty much all of the lighting for the show. We got to choose all of the colors, and what actors were highlighted,” Alex said, “Also, spending time with my friends who were in the show was really fun and made being on the crew worth it.”

Seventh-grader Andie Miller reflected on one incident during a rehearsal: “Once, the fiddler had to play in the dark because the other mic that was being used sounded like a robot when the person spoke.” She said this happened because the spotlight interfered with the mic.

The Lecture Hall filled with lights and sound, and you could feel the excitement in the room as the lights dimmed and the show began.