While attendees took their seats during the recent play of “Zara Spook and Other Lures,” Butler theatre students and faculty worked behind the scenes getting everything together. The cast was full of actors but also dedicated crew who coordinated to bring the play to life.
For the technical teams, the final kick was during dress rehearsal week, which was all about making sure everything is up to par after five intensive weeks of rehearsal and preparation.
Photos provided by Caden Runnalls
“At the point, you start noticing every little detail” Caden Runnalls, the technical director, said. “The other day, I found myself tightening chairs in the house and wiping sawdust off the stage apron. It is the last push where five weeks of work finally starts to feel like a finished show.”
Runnalls also stepped into the role of sound designer for the theatre production.
“I think what you hear is incredibly important to what you feel in a scene,” Runnalls said. “It does not really feel hot onstage until you hear the dull drone of a cicada. You do not feel like you are sitting next to a boat until you hear water lapping against the hull.”
Sound Operator Andy Schulze, who is also a student, executed the audio cues, and he managed the timing for the soundscape to land. While the soundscape set the stage and mood, the crew handled backstage transitions that needed rapid speed and awareness. During different scene changes, the few had to relocate 10 set pieces in less than a minute all while the stage was pitch black. The most complex part of this production is everything the audience hopefully does not notice, Runnalls said. Ideally, the technical crew was so good at it that the audience barely realized just how much happened in the dark.
MJ Jarret, whose major is Liberal Arts, is the head of costumes. MJ said that every acting role behind the stage was helpful to keep the show running smoothly.
“I don’t really think one specific aspect is the most important because in reality nothing would work without everyone showing up,” MJ said.
For the student cast and crew members involved preparing for the production gave experience in time management and discipline under production deadlines. Student Actor Willow Nye whose major is Film, spent six weeks rehearsing for her role and offered advice for student actors managing stressful production schedules.
“Learn your lines; that’s the biggest lesson,” Nye said. “Also listen to the director and don’t take anything to heart.”
The technical leadership hopes the play taught students how to manage complex and unpredictable projects.