A peek behind the curtain

Bright lights. Sound checks. Marked-up scripts and blocked-out stages. Costumes and music and makeup and nerves ... it’s that time of year!

Spring theater season is upon us, and talented students throughout the region are taking the stage to act, sing and dance their way through musicals both classic and contemporary.

What goes on behind the scenes is just as crucial to creating the magic, and those efforts start well before the opening curtain.

What are all the moving pieces that must come together to stage a high school production?

Teamwork and planning

Bringing a show from planning through production requires a strong, dedicated team.

From the director to the cast to the stage crew who makes things happen behind the scenes, a successful show must run like a well-oiled machine - and that can mean dozens of faculty, staff and students knowing and executing their roles.

Participating in a school production requires a high level of commitment from all involved, and students must find a balance between that commitment, their academics and other extracurricular activities.

This starts months before the show goes on. Nearly as soon as the set is struck from the fall play, spring scripts must be chosen and licensed, with casting and rehearsals beginning during the winter.

Countless hours are dedicated to studying lines, blocking the stage, and learning the choreography and music.

The technical aspects of production also start as early as possible. They include stage design and set construction, costume sourcing, and lighting and sound design.

Beyond that, there’s planning for marketing and ticket sales, and finding volunteers and donations for event staffing and concessions.

Funding is critical

It doesn’t take theater experience to appreciate the funding challenges that drama clubs and performing arts departments face.

Staging each show costs several thousand dollars on average, and cuts to arts education budgets often mean finding new and creative ways to raise money and produce shows on a shoestring budget.

While pricing tickets to recoup costs and selling ad space in programs are tried-and-true methods for bringing in some income, school productions increasingly turn to additional fundraisers, such as raffles, cash 50/50s, and pick-a-day calendar lotteries. Those are popular choices because of their low overhead and higher returns.

Booster clubs and parent associations also contribute to fundraising efforts.

In addition to fundraising, in-sourcing can save on production costs. Enlisting the assistance of the art, music and technology departments brings more students into the theater fold, and reusing and recycling materials can keep costs even lower.

At Wallkill Valley Regional High School in Hamburg, students enrolled in the woodshop and art programs built and painted the set for “Mamma Mia!,” which will be performed March 7-9, with their teachers.

Graphic designer Paul Kane devised the musical’s logo, made fliers and created a program, which was printed in-house by Pete Schornstadt and his classes.

Parents and alumni helped with costumes, worked on the set/backstage and ticket and lobby sales, and supplied students with dinners during Tech Week.

“This show couldn’t happen without the support of our staff, alumni and community,” said Christine Molnar, the director. “They really help support the students to reach their full potential, and I’m so thankful and appreciative to everyone involved.”

Repainting background flats and repurposing props are nothing new in the theater world, but stretching dollars is necessary now more than ever.

With the price of costume rentals soaring, some productions are turning to thrifting and borrowing from family closets to outfit their actors without breaking the budget.

At Sussex County Technical School in Sparta, where the performing arts department very nearly was the victim of program cuts last year, students are gearing up to perform “Big Fish: School Edition” on March 21-23.

Theatre Arts Shop teacher and Drama Club director Jaime Villani said the biggest challenges are the constraints of time, budget and resources.

The Drama Club, “did some extra fundraising in order to add some technical elements” to this year’s production, she said.

Finding joy in the process

While the months preceding a production can feel like a marathon, show weekends sprint by quickly.

Villani enjoys watching the process unfold with her students, describing the work as multi-faceted.

“Many layers go into the production of a musical from the minute details of a flower pin on a costume to symbolize hope to the complicated creation of a 12-foot-tall tree to thousands of daffodils covering the stage to the singing, dancing and acting in order to embody new people,” she said.

“Countless hours go into each detail, and it takes a community of students and staff working together to achieve one final result, that all culminates in three performances and then is over.”

The finality of the closing curtain can be bittersweet, but worth every hour spent getting to that moment.

“In my opinion, the joy of putting on a production is seeing a story that has inspired me as a director come to life through the hard work of a group of students and seeing them light up each time they tell the tale,” Villani said.

“And ‘Big Fish’ in particular is a story about dreaming big and connecting with those you love, and watching that story come to life and seeing the spark in the students’ journey is rewarding.”