What goes on behind the curtain is completely different than what is happening in front of it. As the audience watches a production, most are unaware of what is actually going on backstage and the months of preparation beforehand. On May 10-12, the dance department put on its spring dance concert and on May 17-18 the acting ensemble class put on the play “Museum.”
Spring Dance Concert:
“I just remember hearing the rickety rickety of the curtain going up, all the deep intakes of breaths. I put myself in a little box [thinking], ‘We’re in class, just calm down,’” freshman Hunter Koch said. “I had a huge smile on my face because I realized all these people would see what we get to do and that’s what made me really happy.”
It’s opening night of the dance concert and the house is packed. Two hours before the curtain rises, dancers are in theatre teacher Lori Carlin’s room to prepare to go onstage. With each dancer performing at least two pieces, dancers have to put on their costumes as well as prepare their hair and makeup.
“There are tons of girls in various states of undress, there is makeup everywhere, mirrors everywhere; its kind of controlled chaos,” senior Rachel Evensen said.
Freshman Briana Smallwood, a first time dancer, agreed that backstage can be a little insane.
“There are girls running around everywhere doing I don’t even know what; there is makeup everywhere, clothes everywhere, it’s hectic,” Smallwood said.
It’s now 7:10 and the concert is ready to begin. While dancers are onstage performing, some dancers remain in Carlin’s room, but the next group is waiting in a room beside the stage. The room is dark and everyone has to be quiet, anxiously waiting for their turn.
“[Before we went on stage] everyone was like, ‘shh, be quiet!’ My friend Natalie was holding me, and said, ‘Should we pray?’ because we’re both Christian, so we both prayed together and it just made me feel so much better,” Koch said.
Another new performer, sophomore Dominique Elliot, said that she felt nervous while she was waiting to go onstage.
“I was taking deep breaths and I just kept moving around trying to shake my nervousness off,” Elliot said.
A few minutes before the concert began, dancers, as well as dance teachers Kristen Norwood and Leah Smith, said a few encouraging words.
“I got with my whole dance team and we just talked and told each other that we were going to do great and we loved each other,” Smallwood said.
Norwood also reassured her class before they went out to perform.
“Before we went onstage, Ms. Norwood said, ‘I love you guys, have fun, it’s okay if you mess up,’” Koch said.
After performing the piece dancers have rehearsed for months, some dancers agree that it was worth the wait.
“I felt great, I felt alive,” Elliot said. “It’s like no other experience being in front of all those people and hearing them clap for you.”
Spring Play:
“It’s nice to not be yourself; when you’re someone else onstage, you can do whatever, because it’s not you. It’s really freeing,” senior Brooke Jackson said.
On May 17, the acting ensemble class performed the comedy “Museum,” by Tina Howe. Although everyone in the class has performed in front of an audience at least once, some were still nervous about being onstage.
“[I feel] a little tense…once I get onstage, all of that goes away, it’s like a little bottle getting ready to explode,” junior Jeremiah Hartsock said before performing opening night.
Junior Jennifer Greenlee was also a little nervous about performing.
“It feels rewarding to put all your hard work in front of an audience, but it’s also nerve racking because you don’t know how they will respond,” Greenlee said.
While preparing to go onstage, actors and actresses also got ready in Carlin’s room. Similar to the dancers, the cast had to put on costumes and makeup, as well as fix their hair and perform a mic check. Less than an hour before the curtain rose, the cast was quickly trying to get ready to perform.
“Usually it’s like, ‘I cant find my dress! Where’s this? Where’s that?’ [Everyone is] just scattering around trying to find everything; it’s pretty stressful, but it’s fun at the same time,” Greenlee said.
While the cast is getting ready, someone starts to play the piano in the costume room. As sophomore Kyndal Hutchinson, the assistant sound director for the show, plays, the cast dies down a little bit to listen.
“For the shows, it kind of just calms me down if I just go and play the piano for a little bit,” Hutchinson said. “During rehearsal, I’ll play that if it’s getting too crazy. Then the actors will come in and start singing, so it’s kind of a good bonding thing.”
When the costumes, hair and makeup are done, the cast tries to relax and get in “the zone” according to Jackson. Some read over lines one more time, listen to music or try to relax before the show starts.
“We play around most of the time; we dance, we scream at each other, we have fun,” Hartsock said.
– By Taylor Maloch