Actors in theatre frequently get props for their performances and talent, but just as often, much of the work within the theatre goes unseen. Set builders, lighting designers and tech crews are a vital part of the performance and are often not acknowledged by viewers.
The Game’s Afoot
The Game’s Afoot, a Wright State University Production, Opened on Sept. 26 as the first official mainstage play of the Fall semester. The story follows a group of actors in the 1930s as they try to solve a series of crimes after an attempted assassination on one of their co-workers.
The show is filled with twists and turns, complemented by the drama and humor that is woven throughout. WSU theatre and acting majors shine in their roles, pulling together another successful show.
However, more goes into a production than just the surface level. Multiple behind-the-scenes workers pour in numerous hours every week to make this show what it is. Actors take the stage, but those who set it for them and deserve equal recognition.
Set building
Cassie Dranschak, a sophomore design and technology major, was the Charge Artist on The Game’s Afoot. Her job, among other things, involved mixing proper paint colors, coming up with techniques for texture painting, building the sets and acting as a guide for the other students.
The set is another character in the play, vital to aiding in the storytelling, making the time spent on the backdrop important.
For Dranschak, her work on the set totals out to just under 50 hours.
"Calculating my hours, it has accumulated to about 40 hours, plus the day we took an evening to paint the floor, which was about 5 hours," Dranschak said.
Even then, she is on the lower end of this number. Many juniors and seniors put in over 100 hours for every show. Without the many hours put in by design and tech majors, WSU shows would not be the same.
Mckenna Seng, another sophomore design and technology major, shared their experience. Seng worked on numerous shows last year, with "Alice by Heart" being a standout mainstage play. When speaking about the experience in set building, they emphasized the amount of work and time that goes into a single show.
Seng explained that people might not know just how much effort and energy is spent on putting together one show. As a behind the scenes worker whose work is not often as obvious, they wish more people would recognize their efforts.
“Tech just always needs to be more appreciated; more people need to know about it. More people need to tie us together with the actors," Seng explained. "We both do tremendous amounts of work, you just don’t see ours.”
Just because you do not put a name or face with the work, does not mean they dedicate themselves any less. Without behind-the-scenes work, WSU productions would not be as loved as they are.
Lighting design
Lighting designer Jennifer Dillard has her own challenge up in the booth. Her job is to design the lighting that is seen on stage during performances. Just as the set is often considered to be another character, so is the lighting.
Without the work of a lighting designer like Dillard, productions would not have the same quality.
To get to the finished product, Dillard has a long process she must go through. She starts blocking out the lighting plot, then reads the script a few times through, getting a sense of where certain cues should go. From there, she talks to the director to get their vision of what the show will look like. Finally, she puts it all on the stage.
“I start going to rehearsals to watch the show, and this allows me to really bring my design together. You can see what [the actors] are doing and where they are on stage,” Dillard explained.
Between the pre-work before the show and the work done during practices, she puts in a similar number of hours and efforts as the actors. Without Dillard’s precision and work, the emotion of certain scenes or the mood of the stage could fall flat.
Future shows
The Game’s Afoot is one of many shows put on by WSU. As the year moves forward, many new shows will come with it, including Wedding Singer and Concorde Floral.
As they did with this show, students will continue to pour hours into the behind-the-scenes work, despite not being seen by many. As shows continue to be put on, it is important to remember the work done by the staff and students here at WSU.
An entire list of all staff, students and faculty that were involved in the production of The Game's Afoot can be found here; the final showings of the play were on Oct. 4 and 5. For those who missed it, keep an eye out on WSU's University Events Calendar to find future showings of additional productions.
