By Isha Trivedi '18After many weeks of preparation, this year’s fall play, Kind Lady, by Edward Chodorov, kicked off opening night on October 21st. From auditions and rehearsals to design, building and running the show, the Fall Play always takes a great deal of collective effort from the tech crew and cast.
Although ND’s productions require dedication from both the cast and the crew, techies often go unnoticed for the work they do. The design of the set and stage starts weeks before school even begins in August and the build team works on constructing the set for 5 hours a week until the week before the show. At Notre Dame, it isn't parents or volunteers that are using power tools to build the intricate sets that always seem to include stairs, platforms, windows and doors. It's all done by students. In fact, for the building of the set for Kind Lady, the crew used:
- 30 pounds of screws
- 30+ screw gun bits
- 6 gallons of paint on the walls
- 3 gallons of paint on the floor
- 2000+ staples
- 190 linear feet of molding
- 850 square feet of plywood
- 1 gallon of wood glue
And, if you stretched the set out, end-to-end, it would run 60 feet in length!
Lighting, sound, costumes and makeup are also designed and created/built by students. The final week before opening day, tech week, is painful (yet welcomed) as the tech crew moves everything to City Lights Theater and the cast and crew come together for long days (from 3:00 until 10:00pm) of final rehearsals and on-site construction. The result of all this commitment and effort is plainly evident in the final product––opening night was described as “amazing” with a flawless crew and performance.
For Molly Robinson ‘19, being a part of the tech crew was a great experience because “it was really fun to see something built by your own hands.” Participating behind-the-scenes of the play means having “a different sense of accomplishment,” and Robinson’s time as a cast member in previous productions as well as on the tech crew this year has shown her that “when you are in the show, it’s a collective work of art, but when you’re in tech you’re physically making something.” Even though participation in all aspects of the production are equally rewarding, the rewards present themselves in different ways.
For those interested in seeing the result of all the hard work put in by the cast and crew, tickets to see Kind Lady at City Lights Theater can be found here! This play is recommended for those ages 10 and up. Contact skane@ndsj.org for more information.
