Senior has acted as stage tech for every play since her freshman year

On Nov. 11, as the actors exited the stage for intermission for the fall play, “You Can’t Take It with You,” students donning dark clothing and headsets rushed onto the stage and started rearranging props and sweeping the stage. Invisible to the bustling audience, the stage crew, usually a group of 3-5 students, works to make the play run smoothly.  

Being a tech is low-profile role, but the techs who are dedicated to their craft see it as their world. They do everything from using power tools to operating lights, and, this spring, they are helping set up flying sets during the spring musical, “Mary Poppins.”

One person who has done tech all throughout her high school career is senior Quinn Chermak. She has formally teched for every single musical since her freshman year, but she also assists the tech crew during the fall plays despite her commitment as an actor during the plays.

“I joined because I enjoyed being with the people, fixing the problems in weird unexpected ways, and it was a place where I could contribute,” Chermak said. “Seeing a set I had helped make and all the blood, sweat, tears and time that went with it is rewarding.”

Sophomore Ritika Kuppam has acted in two of the shows that Quinn has teched. According to Kuppam, the events in tech are fairly unknown within the actor community because it’s not publicized. In her opinion, the techs don’t get enough credit.

“I feel like everything the techs do is crucial because without them we wouldn’t be able to do our productions [as] we wouldn’t have lights or props,” said Kuppam. “They clean up the McAfee every day, and they stay later than the actors.”

During the months before productions, the techs pour in hours into their work. The spring musical requires 10 a.m.-6 p.m. hours every single day of spring break, and the two weeks before opening night calls for 2 p.m.-10 p.m. sessions daily as well as regular three to four hour after-school sessions in the weeks leading up to crunch time.

“The schedule is what you can do, so I consider it very generous. That said, we work long hours to make the sets and get everything ready,” Chermak said.

Techs spend those several hours after school in the tech room next to the old band room. After the main pieces of the set are built, they are moved to the McAfee Center. When the sets are close to completion, the techs dedicate their time to rehearsing beside the cast with all of their light and set cues.

Of all the technical work, Chermak said her favorite is painting the sets, though she also enjoys resolving problems that pop up during productions.

“I love how unexpected [the problems are], and seeing the effort both the techs and actors have to do to make it right,” Chermak said.