As spring approaches quickly, the school’s theater program is preparing for its spring musical, Legally Blonde. While tons of viewers are excited to watch the show, what many people are unaware of is the amount of work that goes into putting the show all together. There are so many roles that make up this show, beyond just the actors. The stage crew, directors, and cast all play major roles in making this happen. Here are the secrets hiding behind the curtain from this year’s spring musical. 

Before show rehearsals start, obviously, an audition takes place. However, the audition process is a lot more complicated than expected. Linda Deal, director of the theater program,  said, “During auditions, the directors are looking for several things.  First, the student has to show a certain level of ability in singing, dancing, and acting.  Each show and character is different and may require a student to be skilled in one area more than another.” The decision of who to cast can take a lot of time and is a tedious process. Once the cast list is released, months of detailed preparation and long practices are the amount of time needed to make the show happen. Deal said, “At the beginning of the show season, rehearsals are specific to what needs to be achieved. There are music rehearsals, blocking rehearsals, and separate dance rehearsals.  Then, in the second half of the process, we start putting all of the elements together.  The rehearsals tend to be 2 to 3 hours, 4 days a week, with a longer rehearsal on Saturdays.”

Although directors bring plays and musicals together and conduct rehearsals, a major part of the performance is run by students who add their creativity and work together to make sets, create costumes, and bring the show to life. Stage manager, Ariella DiFabio,12 said, “Further from the show rehearsals, we are writing down blocking, getting to know the show, learning moves, managing the build crew, and assigning roles for the show. When the show date gets closer, managers are in charge of spiking set pieces, assigning roles to the run crew, and running backstage during the show.” Behind the curtains, the audience is unable to see the important jobs of the stage crew and managers. Actors are not the only people performing; the crew is also performing in their own way. DiFabio said, “The stage managers’ main jobs are to manage all moves on and off stage by listening for movement cues, assigning run crew to moves, and keeping backstage organized. We also communicate with lights and sound, work as the crew representative with directors, and help the cast with tasks backstage.” These are tasks that take skill and precision to perform. Additionally, DiFabio said, “Legally Blonde has a lot of moves that need a large crew. With a large cast, large crew, and lots of set pieces, backstage can get chaotic, and it is difficult to run things smoothly.” This adds to the pressure the crew and cast face to make the performance run smoothly.