When the house lights go down on opening night, all eyes are on the stage and the people on it. But what about the people sweeping the spotlights? The people holding those instruments lit up by the tiny desk lamp in the corner? The people clad in head-to-toe black moving sets across the stage? The people who painted those geishas’ faces? Those people that have seemingly small jobs actually do more than most would think!

Freedom High School’s musical has many different crews, including orchestra, stage crew and makeup crew. Freedom Drama also has a vocal coach, a group of stage constructors, also known as “The Dads,” a group of costume makers, also known as “The Moms” and those that help with ticket sales. The orchestra is led by Mr. Rob James, the stage crew and “Dads” are led by Mr. Marc Cushing, and the makeup crew is led by Mrs. Lauren Harley. Freedom Drama’s vocal coach has been Mrs. Sue Frey for three years, “the Moms” are led by Mrs. Kathy Schlagel and ticket sales were headed by Mrs. Cathy Baker.

The orchestra is made up of community musicians and high school band members, and the stage crew is solely made up of students. Stage crew puts in a lot of practice hours and perform countless runs through all the sets to find a certain piece or organize the sets so that they can be put on stage in the correct order. Stage crew members have to be fast, but stealthy and silent at the same time. These students work under the scrutiny of director Miss Debra Williamson until the stage crew can perform as flawlessly as the actors.

“Deb always says that the show is only as good as its stage crew, so that pushes us to work really hard and do everything the best we can,” stage crew member Morgan Stewart said.
Stewart has participated in stage crew for two years.

Makeup crew is in charge of doing the makeup of actors before each photo shoot, dress rehearsal, and show. Harley is in charge of organizing her crew members, buying new makeup products, researching the styles and techniques needed for the show and meeting with the cast members. Harley has been the makeup crew coordinator for two years and plans to stay on board for the future.

“The most rewarding part of being makeup coordinator is seeing the show come together. It really makes a difference when everyone is in character with their look complete… Makeup crew really helps the characters come alive on stage!” Harley said.

The students of Print Media Workshop, taught by Mr. Aaron Fitzpatrick, of Freedom Fortune 500, taught by Mrs. Kristen Milanovich, and of Advanced Art, taught by Mrs. Kaylee Haggerty, are also involved in making the production what it is. Photographs of the cast are taken by Print Media students and Fortune 500 members help design and produce the cast merchandise. The artists in Advanced Art worked diligently with Haggerty to design the sets in the ornate fashion required for The King & I.

Fitzpatrick and student photographers from his class go to dress rehearsals and take the senior headshots and cast pictures. In past years, they have set up promotional pictures for musical flyers.
“I enjoy how Print Media gives me the opportunity to be involved in different clubs through observation,” Senior Grace Hutchison said.

Milanovich and several Fortune 500 students produce merchandise on-site at the three musical shows.
“It’s cool to get to be there and see what happens. It’s nice to see how many people come to the play and who wants a shirt to remember the play they went to,” Junior Nicole Wright said.
Haggerty collaborates with Williamson to make her dreams for the sets into a reality, with the help of her art students. They dedicate a week of classes before the musical to painting and designing sets, complete with miniscule details that pull the musical together.

“For my senior year, it’s nice to have a little bit of my artistic contribution on the sets,” Senior Jodie Willis said.

Williamson depends on these crews to help her make the best of the musical season, and speaks highly of them all.
“They put a lot of pride in their assignments and seeing the smile on their faces knowing that they painted this piece or were able to move a set in a matter of seconds to allow the show to move smoothly… that is what puts a smile on my face,” Williamson said.