If you’ve been to a Colonia High School fall play or spring musical performance, you’ve seen the actors and actresses, but who are the people behind the curtain that help make the show possible?

Some people like acting on the stage, but others find themselves being drawn to the atmosphere of being behind the scenes and helping make the show happen. Colonia High School’s fall play and spring musical are not only made possible by the actors and actresses, but most importantly by the stage crew, which is made up of set designers, directors, and costume designers. Stage Crew is a group of students dedicated to helping put on a great show for everyone and makes sure that everything is as good as it can be in order for the show to happen.

“A successful production depends on a cast and crew who are as dedicated as they are talented. A show can only truly be a hit if the cast, crew, and staff have a lot of mutual respect and trust,” said Ms. Platko, who is the director of the spring musical and has been working with the musical and the fall play for 12 years. Platko has been performing since she was four years old and received her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Theater Performance from the University of Illinois. She currently teaches Theater Arts I and II at Colonia High School.

Hours of hard work, from both the actors as well as the stage crew, get put into the spring musical. The sets have to be painted, costumes have to be sewn, made and brought in, lights and microphones must be working; everyone has an important role in the spring musical and are committed to making sure their job is done. “I’m a big fan of the process. I love seeing the show going from a bare stage to this wonderfully sculpted creation,” said Platko.

The current group of students in stage crew typically started their freshman or sophomore year and continued throughout high school. Most often they come for something to do, but end up staying because of friends made. “I started off doing set painting and I was really interested in what went on back stage,” said stage manager and junior, Kristen Huryk, who has done stage crew since her freshman year.

Stage crew is home to four graduating seniors this year: Jimmy O’ Donnell, Triana Powers, Daniel Anner, and Adriana Wilimberg. O’ Donnell is the student tech director and has been a member of stage crew since his freshman year at Colonia High School. Powers is the Senior Costume Designer and has been helping design and make costumes for three years. “Stage crew is really cool because you get to be friends with people you’d never thought you’d be friends with. Being a senior, I’ll never get to do it again, and it’s really sad,” said Powers.

There are many different aspects of stage crew, mainly because there are so many things that need to get done. Students can help with props, lighting, sets, and costumes and it allows them to get experience in a career they may want to do in the future. “I did stage crew to get technical experience and also it’s a fun experience that has allowed me to get insight on theater,” said sophomore stage crew member, Devon Savage.

The students who join stage crew need to care a lot about what they’re doing and need to be dedicated, but also have fun and make friends, in order to get the job done. Students who wish to join stage crew next year for the fall play should attend the meeting that is held in the beginning of year. Announcements for the meeting are given in September or October.

Every student involved with stage crew attends rehearsals six days a week (including Saturdays) for about 4-6 hours each day in order to get everything done, and that’s before Hell Week. Hell Week is basically the week or so leading up to the first performance when all the cast and crew stay until about 10 p.m. or so in order to finish making props and sets and finish up rehearsing scenes.

The performances for The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will take place on April 1st (which is the senior citizen performance), April 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6^th. Tickets can be purchased for $10 online, over the phone, or from anyone involved with the musical, after March 29th they will be sold for $15. Senior citizen tickets are $5 before March 29th but will go up to $15 as well after that.

The money from ticket sales goes towards the CHS International Thespian Society, which is a guild of actors and stage crew members from CHS. To be in the Thespian Society, students need ten credits and at least one has to be an acting credit and a stage crew credit, the other eight can be either other acting credits or stage crew credits.

Being a part of the production takes dedication and patience. To put together a play or musical takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight. The commitment from the first rehearsal to the last day of production doesn’t come to an end because it’s “too much effort.” The actors make the play entertaining, but the stage crew works hard to make it happen.