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The Student News Website of Francis Howell North High School.
The Collector Store

FHNtoday.com

The Student News Website of Francis Howell North High School.
The Collector Store

FHNtoday.com

Countdown to 4th Quarter!
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Crew members of Spring Play

Lights surround them as their elaborate costumes command attention. As the actors recite their lines on stage, there is a bustling group


of vital members working behind the curtains. Members who often are overlooked. However Director Kathy Carron is not one to overlook, and acknowledges that without them there is no play.
“It’s called backstage, but that doesn’t mean they are not important,” Carron said.
This year’s spring play, “Crimes of the Heart”, is a play in which the crew is not only important, but necessary. They represent over 80 percent of the people involved with the production.
“They get credit they deserve from actors and play members,” senior Eric Peters said, “but [as for] the audience, although they’re not trying to be mean, [they] don’t acknowledge or notice them. I think actors give them credit but audience doesn’t give them recognition.”
There are nine different crews, ranging from technical work and advertising to make-up. And although each crew is different, they all work together to try to create a great production.
They spend several days after school in the months before opening night, working on getting the stage set up; then during the night’s of the play, they spend yet another six hours of work combined to make the show run smoothly. And although they spend most of their time working on the play in the weeks before the premiere, it’s the nights of the play that matter most; the crew is in charge of making sure everything is working and that the actors have what they need.
“I don’t think people realize how many people there are backstage and how much work it is,” makeup crew member Pamela Avila said.
While the actors are memorizing lines and working out blocking (movements that go with lines), the crew is hard at work producing everything for the set such as getting costumes
ready and advertising the play. Unlike a lot of other plays, the crew only has one set to build: a kitchen that will be used throughout the entire show. But it is not only the set that is built, it’s the lasting friendships.
“Some of the best relationships have been with crew after school, and the most valuable experiences have been with crew,” Carron said.
These experiences have also been extended to the cast, as both sides have become especially close through their work on the play.
“The cast and crew get along really well,” Peters said. “We have a good relationship. Everyone knows that we [the cast] need you, you [the crew] need us.”
However, while actors seem to get more attention, many crew members tend to find that working backstage is just as rewarding as the job in the spotlight.
“Being on crew is more relaxed,” Carron said. “I think being on crew is more fun cause you don’t have to worry about memorizing lines.”
Even though the crew has to do the majority of the dirty work, its an irreplaceable experience
that is fulfilling as well and entertaining, even with out being noticed.
“My favorite part is how before the show and the week before everything seems impossible
then it comes along great and its great seeing all the hard work come together,” Avila said. “Seeing the whole play come together I feel proud of my self and of other people cause everyone pulls through. With finishing all the hard work it’s a feeling of unison.”

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