Preparations are underway for the tech week of Carlmont’s fall play that will have a small in-person audience, as well as a live stream open to the public.
The fall play “Peter and the Starcatcher,” is a “Peter Pan” prequel, written by Rick Elice. As tech week nears, the backstage crew is preparing for the back-to-back dress rehearsals.
Backstage crew members are a large part of the theater community. The crew manages lights, sound cues, costumes, props, sets, and much more.
“Peter and the Starcatcher” opens in less than a week. Technical rehearsals began Oct. 17 and will end when the show opens, on Oct. 21. According to the show’s directors, these technical rehearsals will include full lighting, sounds, costumes, and props. Emily Krayn, the costume designer for the show and a Carlmont alumna, is putting the final touches on the costumes.
“My favorite part of this show is working with the orphan costumes! In general, I’m interested in historical children’s garments, so working with that knowledge to create costumes has been a lot of fun,” said Krayn.
Krayn is currently working on getting her degree in theater costuming at Cañada College, and she focuses on the little details. “The oldest of the three orphans [a character in the show] is obsessed with being the leader of the bunch. In the show, he wears trousers while the others wear knickerbockers. This helps communicate his age and personality!”
Similar to Krayn, Michael Connolly has a creative job in the backstage crew. Connolly is a member of the Carlmont Technical Theater Association (CTTA), a club at Carlmont that manages the technical side of most of the performances at Carlmont. Connolly is the switch operator for “Peter and the Starcatcher,’ which means that he controls the show’s live stream and decides what camera angle to show at what time of the stream.
“I wanted to help out with the show because I really enjoy doing technical theater, it’s really fun, and the community service time is an added bonus,” Connolly said, “My favorite part of doing this job is the creativity. There are no specific cues for me to follow like there might be for light or soundboards. What I decide to do in rehearsal can change. Unlike other positions, what I do is not set and sound.”
Sebastian Della Gatta is also a member of the CTTA, and he is the sound board operator for the show, which according to him, means that he manages all the music and sound cues.
“I haven’t worked a single big show in which I haven’t come across something I’d never seen before, and finding solutions to new interesting problems is something that I really enjoy,” Della Gatta said, “the feeling you get after everyone just pulled off a flawless show is unrivaled.”
Last year, Carlmont did not have any in-person shows because of virtual school, “I wanted to help out with this show because I want to get the most experience I can working on shows and events, and It has been really tough finding opportunities during COVID, so when I was approached and asked if I wanted to help out I was all for it,” Della Gatta said.
Doing technical work for shows can be extremely rewarding for the crew, “Doing this job feels great. You are working together with a bunch of amazing people to create something bigger than any one person, which is just really inspiring,” Della Gatta said.
