Productions I Have Worked On
All through my years of elementary school we had always gone to Opeongo High School to see their latest musical production. I don't know why, but back then I never thought it possible that I could be part of something like that.
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When I finally was out of elementary, and was going to Opeongo, my eyes were opened to the possibilities. Our school was sending a play called Definitely Eric Geddis to the Sears Drama Festival. My friends and I decided to join the team and became the props crew. We had to create an office building for the cast to work with.
One of the rules of the Sears Drama Festival is that the crew has 10 minutes to set up and 5 minutes to tear down, this is to keep the time between performances to 15 minutes. We entered into the festival, and handled our part quite well, but you can't always win. While we did not move on to the next level it was a lot of fun and an excellent learning experience.
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My second year of High School, and I was ready for something else. After Eric Geddis my appetite for the theater grew. I realized that this was something I really enjoyed. This year I was going to be an assistant stage manager for a play called Triffles, but when word spread that there was a possibility for a musical everyone decided that the would rather do that. Well, now what was I going to do?
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The answer, become stage manager for Ten Lost Years, my first experience that involved True Power! This was a very interesting experience for me because in order to keep the set minimal we had to have each scene be identified by the props the actors used as well as the changes in lighting that were made.
The musical consisted of 32 shot scenes, each having its own set of props. I had to make sure that each prop was taken on by the right actor at the right time, as quietly and efficiently as possible. I did this by taking one of the entrances to the cafeteria and closing it off as a props room. Tables were set up with groups of props and above each group a list was posted showing the scene, the props, and who was supposed to carry them on. We only had two nights of performances but both were a huge success.
After this was over I wrote an article for the school newspaper, if you want to see it click here.
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Year 3, 1997/1998. After the successful run of Ten Lost Years. Opeongo High School was ready to give the Sears Drama Festival another try. This time we would send not just one, but two plays into this competition.
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I decided to give the job of Stage Manager another try. In the case of this play the problem was reversed. The lighting was simple, and the carry on props were almost non existent. In Trifles we had to create a kitchen on the stage. We had to get an old fashioned hutch, a cast iron stove, a table, a sink, a roller towel, a window, and 5 chairs out on stage in the time allowed. I think that out of the 10 minutes allowed it only took us 1 minute and 37 seconds to put up. Once again our play did not move on to the next level, but working with such a wonderful group of people is its own reward.
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Already having my hands full with Trifles, I was still needed for a minor part of the other play that was sent in. I was part of the lighting crew for Childhood. My job was to use the spotlight to keep the focus on the cast while the scene change was being done. I was also supposed to hold a sheet of blue plastic over the spot, with the wide lense on, to give a special effect for a dream sequence. The blue effect for the dream sequence was later cut out, and I was left with only the spotlight during the scene change. Even with such a small role, it is still good to be involved as many things as you can. This play did not move on either, but was still very well done.
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After the teacher's job action, nobody was certain if we would be able to pull together an entry into the drama festival. Luckily, the festival was pushed back a few months giving us the time needed for preparation. Opeongo's 1999 entry was Men and Angels. At first I was uncertain of the play, it had only a small cast (2) and didn't seem to involve very much work from the stage crew; as it turned out, it too was a blast. We had to figure out lighting around the bars of a jail, find a way to build a jail and an office with very visible barriers without blocking the actors. Brady Laska an Jennifer K Dick did a great job in their very difficult roles. In the end, I recieved the award for best stage manager (at last! I won! I won!), we also swept almost all of the other awards in all of the other areas. Had more schools entered plays, we would have been able to continue to the next level, unfortunatly we were unable to continue to the next round. Still, Opeongo really pulled together at the last minute to produce something worth being proud of.
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West Side Story
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This year my school is performing West Side Story. I will be playing the roll of Action and am sharing the job of Stage Manager. Wanna learn more about this? I've created a special page for West Side Story Here.
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This Page Is Designed And Maintained By James Peltzer
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