Behind the scenes theater students work together

The Rolla High School plays are put on twice a year by the devoted drama department. Other than the three days of performing live in front of a local audience, a lot of work and effort is hidden behind the stage.

“Behind the scenes there is a lot of work that the audience never sees starting from just the rehearsal scene point and directorial standpoint. We were in rehearsals, for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for six weeks before the show opened. For musicals like Once Upon a Mattress, we will actually be in rehearsals for somewhere between eight and ten weeks total before the show actually opens,” drama teacher Kelli McNeven said.

The extensive effort put into these performances is shown not only by the cheers and applause of the audience, but by the excitement of the crew long before the play’s opening performance.

“Well [there is] a lot of stress for one, a lot of drama, but it is the drama department, we go behind scenes, read scripts and all that, try and keep everyone ready to go on their scene at a certain time… There’s excitement all the time especially when someone doesn’t realize it’s their cue and you hear them running across the backstage,” senior Alex Mitchell said.

The crew itself deals with multiple responsibilities at once, some being as minor as taking care of a prop or a change of costume while others can be a bit more hectic dealing with an entire scene change or having the lights and soundboard cue at precise times.

“Whenever we are going through the scenes in rehearsals there’s a lot going on all at once and you’re sorta just constantly moving around or getting into position and making sure everything’s going right, it’s sorta hectic I guess but it’s still fun,” senior Connor Wilson said.

Although the rehearsals and the scenes themselves are a big part of what is going on, there is a whole lot more happening that the audience might not see; these unseen parts are what pulls the entire play together.

“There is a crew who is in charge of helping out with scene changes when we have larger casts like for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, some of the actors are in charge of moving scenery off and on as well just so we don’t have to stock more people backstage when there’s not a whole lot of room. We have people in charge of the curtains, we have people… [who] are technically not backstage, you don’t see them, they are up in the light and sound booth running the light board then the sound board and we also had two spotlight operators who were helping out to add extra lighting to some of our scenes,” McNeven said.

These transitions between the characters and scenes, lighting and sound, and overall rehearsal require practice and effort that the crew are all to willing to give.

“If you are a cast member you have to be there the whole way. I did backstage so I only came in for the last two weeks basically but even then by the time it was over I knew everybody that was part of it,” Wilson said.

By the end of the play the crew becomes more like a family. The overall participation an effort creates bonds between the whole cast no matter what part you played in it; The actors, directors, scene builders, even just the scene changers seem to become a family regardless of social barriers.

“I think most of the cast would agree with this, even though we put a lot of work into building the set and putting it all together, striking it at the end of the show, taking everything down, and just tearing it apart, because sometimes you just get to demolish stuff and go after it until it’s in tiny pieces, and so that’s usually the most fun despite all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into it,” McNeven said.

When the plays are finished, the cast members celebrate another fantastic show. Some of them even start anticipating the next play and prepare for the next time they get to be a part of these exciting events.

“The plays are my life, I want to help or be in the plays anytime I can. I’ve been doing plays since sophomore year… so yes do it, just do it, don’t let your dreams just be dreams,” Mitchell said.