When people think about high school productions, they usually marvel at the talented actors and actresses on stage. However, little do they realize the magic that goes on backstage to get the show up and running. 

Theatre director Scott Tarzwell described the tech crew as, “The best technical crew that I’ve worked with since I’ve been here for two years. [They] took my vision and made it happen quickly.” He said that the turnover from Fairy Tale Courtroom to Awesome ‘80s Prom only took two weeks.

Senior tech director Eddie Amani watched the show from inside the sound booth as he controlled and dimmed the lights to emphasize the spotlight that Joshua Leveille would put on speaking characters. Amani cued lights through a computer light board wired to the actual lights on the stage and backstage.

Sophomore Saamia Bashir and sophomore Anna Nguyen controlled the soundboard, picking what ‘80s classic to play at the time, checking the volume of the mics, and cuing characters for their upcoming part. Occasionally Amani and Bashir would speak to the stage managers through  a radio about lights that may need to be turned off such as extra house lights or backstage lights.

Bashir said that tech had always been a passion of hers ever since middle school. When she was forced to be in the Spelling Bee, she’d make a fuss to work in tech. “It is so great to work on something so hard and show off the end product,” She said. It taught her the value of teamwork and she is glad to have such amazing people in power.

For most people, their jobs may seem difficult or demanding, yet the soundbooth crew finds ways to make the most out of these responsibilities such as centering the spotlight on quirky dancers or children showing off their dance moves.

Tech crew not only helps with lights and sound, but builds the set and props, creates audience enthusiasm, cues actors, makes advertisements for the play, and much more.

“The atmosphere isn’t always the most professional, yet everybody is a family,” said Amani. “It feels great to be part of something of such a big magnitude.” Although the obvious benefits of joining tech may be SSL hours, getting to learn new skills, and helping to bring the show together, Amani says that, “In all honesty, these people are good to be with after a rough day. They’re dedicated and you get to see them grow as people.”

Senior Sonja Gettys works as stage manager and also helps in designing and painting the set. She tells people when to move the lights and even cues the actors for their parts and warns them of how much time they have left during intermission.

Senior theatre captain Enrique Oliva is part of the drama board, but for this show he worked for the first time as a techie. He described the experience as, “Weird and unfamiliar because I’m so used to being out on stage and acting.” However, he was grateful to work along with them and says that techies are usually underappreciated and people don’t realize that they work hard under a lot of constraints.

Senior tech director Logan Blaskowski began working in tech during middle school. He started off by building props for the set and branched out into other areas of tech. As tech director, he is responsible for helping to run the show smoothly, assigning jobs, organizing the loft and workshop, and checking on the techies’ progress.

Since they spend roughly three-to-four hours or more together nearly every day after school and whole entire days during hell week, the auditorium has become home to them. “I want to clear up the misconception that we don’t do anything. We do so much more than what you see, so much work that goes into everything, that goes into hell week. There is the urge and power to create something fantastic,” Blaskowski said. “Tech crew is my outlet for creativity.”