My freshmen year of high school I transferred out of Team Sports into Technical Theatre 1, and I was introduced to a hidden world where research becomes characters, ground plans become set pieces, and sea creatures become lighting plots (see images below). No one truly realizes how much work goes into any show until they witness the process themselves. Even I am struggling to find the words to describe it (as I write this article backstage left of Oglethorpe University's production of Hair).
Normally, the amount of people backstage is considerably more than the people onstage. This show is unique in that the actors are onstage for a majority of the production. As such, they bring on most of their own props and move their own set pieces. There are twenty actors in the show, and (currently) fourteen people backstage - but that number does not include the band, directors or any of the designers that contributed to the production. And each one of these people put in months of work for a two-hour musical.
Actors, directors, and stage management went to rehearsal six out of seven days a week for over a month. Designers stewed over draft over draft until they landed on their final plots and began hanging lighting instruments and building set pieces - which were then adjusted on tech weekend, when everyone was in the same place for the first time.
There is a show within the show itself. There are scenes of headset chatter, hand-offs of props, quick changes, and rotating platforms. Each person knows their part and is executing it so that the show may run flawlessly. There is little communication about the onstage happenings backstage, because if you are seeing a part of the show that you've never seen before, you have probably missed your cue. In order for there to be fire onstage, there is an assistant stage manager and a member of the run crew ready with a fire extinguisher. In order for it to "snow" onstage, there is a box of paper that is sprinkled down from the catwalk. There is a frequently spoken, "unspoken" rule that if you don't see a member of the tech crew then they are doing their job correctly.
Each show is different. Different directors, designers, etc. As I am currently working on Hair, most of my references pertain to this show and I can give you an inside look to this process, and - as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words.
The lighting designer of Oglethorpe University's production of Hair is Connor McVey. The following images are some of the inspirations for his work for Hair (as partially shown in the lighting plot). I am not at all responsible for any of creation - I am just sharing it with you.
The following images depict the work of Jonathon Nooner and Jonathon Rollins. I, once again, am not taking credit for any of these images or the art shown in them. I am letting you in on an Oglethorpe Theatre secret (and might lose my head for it). A Batman-related image or item is always hidden in our sets. Fun fact about our production of Hair: we were gifted a sticker used for the promotion of the original production, and it is hidden on our set as well.
