When asked who the most important, favorite, or best person in a theatre production is, our first reaction is always to run through the cast list in our heads, or think of the main characters in the show, or name our favorite character, but no one ever thinks of the people behind the scenes first. And the same is true for movies; even though the iconic saying of “Lights, camera, action!” lists two (maybe even three) things that have nothing to even do with the cast, we often forget about the importance of people working behind the scenes. That is not to say that the cast members or actors have less importance, as they are very important and a show could not be produced without them, only to say that there are other important people that we often forget about.
That is why I am writing this article! I interviewed members of the Crew for Bethany’s 2022 musical, Godspell, to get their thoughts and perspectives on the show, as well as a better understanding of what really happens behind the scenes to produce a musical such as this one.
In case you don’t know: I, Ian McHugh, run the lights for theatre productions at Bethany. In order to see the actors on stage, we need light. My job is to design lighting layouts that match the mood of the current scene, as well as the overall theme; then program that lighting so it can be the same for every performance. It takes a lot of time to lay out the lights the perfect way the first time, but it is a very enjoyable experience. And without me, you would be unable to see anything happening on stage!
One of the better known crew jobs is the Stage Manager. Typically, there is one Stage Manager (commonly called the SM) and one Assistant Stage Manager (also called ASM), but for this show, there was one head SM (Helen) and two ASMs (Adam & Mara), Adam was also the House Manager this year. The main job of a Stage Manager is to make the directors’ lives easier. They are always ready to help out with whatever is needed, wherever. There are lots of odd jobs involved in this. This year, Helen had to pick up an actor (Simon) from his house, to work on some costume designing. The stage managers also track quotes and funny moments. They will write down anything funny that happens, and after production weekend, share the best moments. Being a stage manager requires a lot of effort, as it takes as much time as the cast. They have to be at every rehearsal and keep notes for every person. They have to always be ready to call a line if someone forgets their’s, but also take notes for after practice. It’s a lot of work, and without them, no one would improve, and the directors would be overrun!
There are two big groups of people that work on the design behind the scenes. These groups are the costume crew and the prop crew. The prop crew’s job is to locate props that fit in the show. They searched backstage, and in places out of school, for things that could improve the stage life and fit into the show. Sometimes, the prop team has to create props for specific scenes. The costume crew’s job is to design, make, and create costumes for the cast. They work very hard to make each actor look like their character. This year, they had to spend several extra hours designing a dress that Jesus wore throughout the show. They put a lot of effort into making each character look their absolute best. Without the props and costumes crews, the show would be performed by high-schoolers in sweatpants using hand motions and sticks!
Thanks to everyone who was on the Godspell design team this year! The show would not have been the same, or even possible, without all of you.