It’s around 8:30 when I pull up to the black box doors near the back of Hall High School. Most actors are leaving rehearsal, the athletes are heading home, and the janitors are making their final rounds. Greg Scheiber however, is just getting started.

After three years of teaching, Greg the technical director, is no stranger to working late, often staying past 11:00 pm to hang lights or touch up a set, especially during the busy Pops and Jazz season. “Greg easily puts in 200 hours for Pops and Jazz alone,” says Junior Brian Prevere, showing his amazing dedication to our theatre program. Construction all begins with a sketch, or a draft in technical terms. After discussing the desired look for the set, Scheiber draws two or three possible ideas and once one of these is agreed upon he begins to draft it, drawing a detailed set in a smaller scale.

Once these blueprints are complete, they are photocopied and handed out to the carpenters, lighting department, sound department,  stage managers, and props departments. This tells everyone what needs to be done, the pieces of wood that need to be cut, furniture to source, and  lighting cues to program.

After days of working and piecing together the set, it’s almost opening day and the main components of the set are up. Lights have to be hung so the room is blacked out and lights are hung up and focused on the grid.  Now the wall paper, crown molding, and other details have to be added. After hours of work the set it finally done, and ready for the opening day.

So next time you see a play, keep in mind that it’s more than the actors learning their lines that made it possible. It’s the carpenters, and stage managers, and lighting and sound crews that make all the gears turn in unison.