With the dimming of lights, the audience goes quiet. A single spotlight illuminates the stage. Hidden behind a drawn curtain are the people making the production possible.
The audience sees a show, but the stage managers, student directors, technical directors, and cast and crew see a production, filled with countless hours of rehearsing and perfecting every last technical detail.
At Woodgrove, the theater program is purely student-led, with direction and casting from the theater educator and director, Ms. Beverly Pruzina. Each candidate applying for a leadership position in theater completes an interview, where they share their background in theater, strengths, and what makes them a reliable leader. The process is modeled to be like a real-life interview, and if students had a resume, they would provide it to showcase their experience. Pruzina explained that the most important qualities to her in a student director or stage manager are the ability to enjoy being around their peers and putting in the hours that can add up to intensive days of work. “A lot of times, students think somebody in leadership is aloof or above their peers, but I look for student leaders who really love the factor of being around other people,” Pruzina stated.
Duties between each leadership position in theater may vary, but they all work together in order to make each element of the show blend cohesively. Hunter Carnall, a senior in the theater program, is a stage manager for the upcoming musical, “Little Women.” He has been surrounded by theater his whole life, having parents who met in the arts. Part of Carnall’s job is to quickly solve problems under pressure in order to ensure that the cast and crew work together effectively to have a successful production. Carnall shared, “As a stage manager, I work with all parts of the crew for the production to run smoothly. I must coordinate scene changes with the run crew as well as the tech booth to align the lights, sound, and set to move as one.”
Photo provided by Beverly Pruzina.
Gracie Vosburgh, a junior in the theater program, is student directing “Lord of the Flies” (LOTF) and technical directing “Little Women the Musical.” She had friends who pushed her to join theater in her freshman year, and has been a part of the program ever since, working her way up to achieve higher leadership roles. During her interview with Pruzina, Vosburgh discussed her vision for each show, and what she wanted to get out of it, earning her the leadership roles.
Vosburgh noted that at Woodgrove, the theater program runs a technical director so that they work alongside stage managers. “During shows, I’m mostly in charge of the lighting and sound booth with some special effects. At rehearsal, I’m there to take notes for our lighting and sound designer. I oversee the production in order to make sure it runs smoothly,” she added.
A sophomore in the theater program, James Cook, prefers working on the technical side of things. Cook is a special effects and props lead for LOTF and an assistant stage manager (ASM) for “Little Women the Musical.” Cook commented, “ASM is overseeing everything that is going on backstage. The moving of set pieces and making sure everything is running smoothly. You are under the stage manager who tells you everything you need to get done for that rehearsal.” Cook explained that for LOTF he has to handle the fog machine and any props that the cast will use on stage.
Whether in theater for the credit or looking to continue with it in the future, students expressed the experiences and memories they have gained with their time in the program. Pruzina noted “high school is a melting pot of students trying to figure out what exactly they want to do. So having a grounding in theater, especially as a leader, sets them up for success beyond these walls…Creating confidence and giving people that theater experience in high school puts students way ahead of the competition,” Pruzina added.
While in theater the past two years, Cook gained some skills that would stick with him. Cook expressed, “Something I have gained from Woodgrove Theater that will stay with me is the discipline and the respect that everyone has for each other.” Carnall added that as soon as he started his journey in theater, it stuck with him. “I started doing the tech side at the start of middle school and fell in love with it,” he stated. Watching students take theater that normally would not, and having them find a place in the program is one of the most rewarding parts of Pruzina’s job.
With a two week turn-around between LOTF and “Little Women the Musical,” the crew will have to both take down and construct a whole set, all while the cast is still rehearsing. Carnall noted that with the help of everyone, they would get the job done. “We have a great tech team and truly talented actors who are willing and able to take on the challenge and put together a great show,” added Carnall. Similarly, Gracie Vosburgh expressed that even through challenges, the program pushes through. She stated, “Theater has a really strong community. It’s one of the places I feel the safest as a creative person. There are so many good people that do theater and even with the ups and downs, it’s so much fun seeing all the hard work we put in have an outcome and become a production.”
Pruzina shared, “There is nothing in the world like live theater. Even though it is scripted, even though we have rehearsed it, there’s something magical that happens in this space because you have the intricateness of the audience.” As the curtain opens for the last time of the night, the crew and leadership from backstage, lighting, and sound booths scramble to join hands with the cast in a final bow, applauded all at once.