Behind the Curtain: The crew of Legally Blonde
By now, you’ve probably heard about this year’s spring musical, Legally Blonde. If you’ve been to a musical or play before, you can probably appreciate the work that the actors and musicians put in to create a quality show, with dozens of hours practicing singing, choreography, line delivery, and more. What you may not think about, however, is what you don’t see.
Behind the scenes of every successful stage show is a successful stage crew. From moving props to adjusting lights, the crew’s job is to make sure the technical aspects of the show run smoothly, so the audience’s focus can remain on the the story being told by the actors. It may sound relatively simple, but the crew’s job can quickly become complicated when the timing and placement of props, sets, lights, and more needs to be precisely arranged.
With so much that needs to be done, it’s important for crew members to take on a variety of roles. Emily Gehling, ‘18, has one of the most important: stage manager. “I cue crew members, which means that I tell them what they need to do and when they need to do it. I assign crew members roles, and I am in charge backstage and directly below Ms. Plumley(the theater director). I ensure that the show runs as smoothly as it can.”
Meanwhile, Noah Kelleher, ‘18, works far above the stage: “I am doing flies along with Sam Gilligan this year. We will be controlling when the curtains and backdrops go in and out during performances.” Proper management of the flies is crucial to establish sets and keep actors safe.
Other roles include the prop manager, who is responsible for the small props actors use on stage; spotlight, who controls when the spotlight is on and where it’s trained; and shift crew, who work to move the large sets on stage. Additionally, sound, costumes, lighting and more must be managed.
Legally Blonde is also proving to be an especially challenging show for the crew.
“With Legally Blonde, we have a movable set, which we’ve never done before. In previous years, we had one stationary set and we moved small set pieces in and out. With this show, the entire set is comprised of several, large pieces that have to go in and out constantly,” explains Gehling.
Using multiple sets, backdrops, and even live dogs, Legally Blonde is sure to provide adequate challenge even to the experienced members of crew.
Why do those in crew do it? Some do it as a chance to hang out with their friends and be involved with a musical without having to perform. For others it’s because they want to fulfill the important roles needed to make the show succeed. “I’m passionate about theatre and the Wahlert theatre department, and I want the show to do well,” says Gehling.
So if you’re going to the musical this weekend (Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 p.m.), remember that behind every set transition or lighting change is another member of the cast working to make the show the best it can be.
