Every night before the show, the musical crew and cast go to the first floor for “circle time.” They stand in a circle in the choir room and hold hands while Director Gavin Calgaro and various seniors give motivational speeches.

Then they do group warmups to build energy before the show, junior Brooke Manning said.

The nightly tradition also underscores that, while the cast is seen on stage, the stage crew is essential behind the scenes. Their role will be important for the spring musical, 9 to 5, which will run at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday in the auditorium.

Manning is the student costume/makeup designer and is also a part of the ensemble, multitasking throughout the show. She explains how cast members need to fix their hair and makeup, and then goes on stage to perform alongside the cast.

“I help people make decisions about their hair and makeup and make sure everyone is comfortable with their costuming,” Manning said.

Junior Erika Priano also holds a student leadership position: She is one of the assistant stage managers, so she controls part of the backstage area. Priano moves props on stage and cues the run crew to transition sets in-between scenes, all while in the dark.

“It’s really crowded backstage, so you have to be ready and just know what’s next,” Priano said.

With all of the rehearsals, the rigorous schedule can be tiring. Tech Week run-throughs focus on microphones and the mechanical pieces of the show. These rehearsals vary in time, sometimes starting at 4 p.m. and going to 10 p.m.

“I was here till 11 p.m. last night,” Priano said on Tuesday.

But stage crew members said that despite the long hours, the musicals are a fun experience. Priano has participated in stage crew for three musicals and one play. She has also been a part of an ensemble in middle school, working on Legally Blonde Jr. and Shrek Jr.

Senior Rosemary Becker has been in the cast for all high school musicals until this year, when she moved to stage crew. She has been involved with musicals since she was 6, and she has participated in outside theatres as well. 

Becker was originally cast as the Doctor in this year’s musical, but then she realized that role was not for her. She talked to Calgaro, who then had her choose a role in the crew.

Becker’s role is assistant propmaster and works in the tech crew. She assists the propmaster, senior Emma Underwood, who is also in the cast. She helps make sure all the props are set, the cast members know where their props are, and there are backups in case a prop gets broken or goes missing. During shows, Becker is not backstage to help with the props but up in the sound booth.

Becker has worked sound and other stage management roles at South Park Theatre. But the high school musical is bigger.

“The theaters that I work with are relatively small, so most of the time, we don’t have comms to talk to the rest of the crew, because it’s usually just, like, three people,” Becker said. “Then here I had to learn how to work the full headset.”