Behind the curtains: The Tech Crew goes to work

If you were to visit the tech crew’s room near the music rooms, the first thing you would notice is probably the loud screeching sound of wood being chopped by members of the tech crew. There would be a smell of sawdust in the air and you would see wooden planks everywhere. This is a scene from the daily life of a tech crew member.

The tech crew, which also uses the spelling tech crüe, works behind the scenes of school’s plays, musicals and student productions to make them successful.

Tech is an eighth-period class in which a group of about 10 students help with the productions in various ways.

They are in charge of making sets, which display the scenery and setting of the play. This process involves cutting the wood into various sizes and then painting it. They also work with lights and sound.

“In tech, we design, manufacture, create and build,” said junior David Traina. “We build everything you see in the play.”

Members of tech crew all have important responsibilities and strive to get their jobs accomplished on time.

“The techs are mostly in charge of building and creating the sets with little or no help from the teacher,” said sophomore Katie Burns.

Burns recalled working on the lights for the “Jekyll and Hyde” production last year.

“During ‘Jekyll and Hyde,’ the spring musical last year, it was completely up to me to take care of the light board. Everyone has their own prep work to do,” Burns continued. “If that specific thing isn’t done then it can mess with the show or problems may arise.”

Since everyone has their own individual work that they must complete without the help of the teachers, members of tech crew obtain a lot of real-life experience.

“[Tech crew entails] a lot of hands-on experience that you don’t get in other classes. It’s not just all theory without practice. If they teach you how to use a screw gun or nail gun, then you’re going to get to use the screw gun or nail gun. It’s actual practice,” junior Stephen Jensen said, who works on the set pieces and sound.

The tech crew works very hard directly before the plays and sometimes will work until 10 p.m. after school.

Since the tech crew spends a lot of time working together, members of the tech crew grow close to one another.

“Everyone is just so open. It’s sort of like another family because of how much time you spend with them,” said Burns.

The tech members all enjoy their work despite the hard amount of work that is required.

“I’ve always enjoyed building stuff out of anything. In middle school, I did a bunch of tech stuff and that evolved to where I am in high school,” Traina said.

If you ever walk around the campus after school and hear a loud shrieking noise, remember that it’s the tech crew hard at work on the next big play.