If you love musical theater, but don’t like to perform in front of people, or just can’t sing, then the backstage crew is the perfect compromise. All students are welcome to join. Crew is a fun way of being involved in our school’s musical, Little Women, even if you don’t have a part.

“Without crew, none of the furniture would be there. There would be poor lighting and no sound,” freshman Evan Mantz said.

The crew is an imperative part of a smoothly run musical. There are also many different elements to the crew, allowing each person to do that area which they enjoy the most.

“There are several different technical crews which include hair/makeup, costumes, lighting, sound, props, deck/running, set, and stage managers,” said Melanie Willis, the theater teacher at Liberty.

The hair, makeup and costume crews help do the actors’ hair and makeup, and help with quick costume changes that the actors might have. The lighting crew helps to set the atmosphere and mood of that particular scene. Sound is crucial to any musical as well, to be able to hear the actor’s lines and the music. The prop crew researches the time period to see what style of furniture was used, and what kinds of things were used as hobbies or activities. The deck/running crew is in charge of moving set pieces to help the show flow from one scene to the next. Finally, stage managers help to give cues to lighting, sound, and deck crews, as well as give actor cues and giving lines to actors during rehearsals.

Mrs. Willis said that she would love to have 10-20 more students on crew. If you are interested, there is an application that needs to be filled out which can be found on the Thespian Club Google Classroom (code: ii6gmye). The application can be turned in to Mrs. Willis in room 506, or emailed to her at [email protected]. Practices are Monday-Friday from right after school to 4:30. Being on the crew is a wonderful experience for anyone and is a great way to meet some amazing new people.