A play isn’t a play without the lights, the costumes, the set and so much more. But all these elements don’t just appear out of nowhere. There’s an entire crew of around 40 people that plans each and every part of the spring production.

“I feel like the crew is kind of like a family,” stage manager Bree Williams said. “We come together to put on this show and make something that’s beautiful and that we can be proud of.”

Auditions for the spring musical, “Grease,” were Feb. 2. Before auditions, the crew was already hard at work getting everything prepared. The production process began about a month before auditions. By the time the cast lists were out, the set was almost finished, the props were ready to be used and the costumes were waiting to be worn. Getting everything ready so far in advance helps both the crew and cast. It helps the crew because they aren’t rushing to get everything done before opening night. It helps the cast because they are able to work with the props and the set instead of just sitting down and reading the script.

“We don’t want to have to sew a costume the day of the play,” drama teacher Kim Sulzner said. “Getting ready in advance is just a way to help prevent things from going wrong.”

There are six different crews that make up the entire crew. There is set crew, props crew, lights and sound, costumes and makeup, publicity crew and production crew. The newest member of the drama family is the production crew. This is the first year that drama has included a production crew. Production crew basically plans everything out for the other crews. This way, they don’t waste time when the rest of the students join. There is a lot of time-consuming work that goes on behind the curtain, such as going through the script and finding each and every prop that the production will need. The production crew does these time-consuming and tedious jobs.

“A lot of times they spend more time here than they do at home, especially during tech week,” Sulzner said. “It’s stuff that they aren’t doing at home and they get to see something come from nothing.” 

The glue that holds the crew together is the pair of stage managers. For the spring musical, “Grease,” the stage managers are Williams and sophomore Riley Lawson. Before the production, they work closely with each crew to ensure that everything comes together. During the musical, each stage manager calls out cues and watches the musical to make sure everything is in place. According to Sulzner, organization and observation skills are key to being a good stage manager. If a problem arises, it is their job to recognize it and find a way to solve the problem.

“One thing I find interesting about acting is that you need the crew,” stage manager Riley Lawson said. “They basically do everything for you, but you don’t get to work closely with them. As stage manager, I get to work with each crew closely and see this production come together.”