Behind the Scenes of a West Production

It’s getting warmer outside, and the days are becoming longer; starting, which means Hazelwood West’s Spring Musical is in the works. Every school year, West’s theatre troupe (Troupe 786) produces and performs a fall play, a winter one-act, and a spring musical. Their Prior Musicals, “Legally Blonde” and “Shrek,” have been very successful. Mr. Anderson, who is Lead Directing for the first time in many years, clambers about how complex their newest production, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” will be.

 

Orchestra Pit

Every Musical at West receives at least some form of support from the school’s band and/or orchestra; large teams of students come together to perform symphony-style music to play for each performance. These students work down the bottom of the stage in what is called the pit. So they are also known as Pit.

 

Sophomore, Morgan Vance, is tackling year two being in the Orchestra Pit for West. She plays the trombone and was recommended to join Pit because of her band teacher, Mr. Aaron Jackson’s, influence. Since performing in the pit is faster-paced than traditional music performed by West’s orchestra, Vance gets to challenge her skills and engage more with the craft. Also, pit pushes musicians to look out for cues from actors rather than read music off a sheet, and Vance enjoys the challenge.

Prop Design: 

Willy Wonka is known for his many ‘chocolat-ized’ inventions such as the Gobstopper, the Cotton Candy Dandelion and even his famous Whipple Scrumptious FudgeMallow Delight. All of these delicious confections have to be created by Hazelwood West’s Props crew. Every fabulous piece on the stage even if it’s just a small piece of taffy or an entire Lollipop Land. 

 

Senior, Destyni Love, is returning for her role in Props Crew at west. Many of the props she deals with are made by hand and some are even bought by her fellow crewmates. As troubling as this task can be for her, Props Crew is still what she enjoys most compared to the many other crews she has been a part of prior.

Costume and Makeup Design: 

Wonka’s Oompa Loompas are famous for their instantly recognizable neon-orange faces, watermelon colored locks and crisscross striped overalls. Violets bulging blueberry fit is one sight you could never forget and even those cashew chewing squirrels with covered head to toe in fur.

 

However, Estefania Rodriguez, 10, will let you know that those Loompa-Land looks are not easy to create  as Costume Crew Head she works with her team find the outfits for each character based on character descriptions within the script, while Tavia Duncan, who is Hazelwood West’s Makeup Crew Head, goes on word descriptions alone to create her makeup looks, she learned how to do makeup herself and can get a person done beautifully in just 10 minutes. Of course with 30 more to go.

 

Light Crew: 

Audience members will want to see these beautiful costumes and designs. Not knowing just how crowded the stage can become without the shadow from a spotlight to drown out the background.

 

So the troupe’s Lights Crew, Seniors, Noah Jackson, and Trenton Akin, sophomore, Logan Dresser and junior Jackson Vishy, are on the job to make sure that all works out. For Akins, this is his sixth show working lights. After being on the job for half of his time at Hazelwood West, managing the illumination has become as easy as taking chocolate from a child. Him and his crewmates plan out where the lights should be and make sure everyone is illuminated accordingly.

Sound Crew: 

Although the Pit plays most of the beautiful music that goes throughout the show. Not every noise created can be done with a violin or a tuba. Hazelwood’s Sound Crew is responsible for putting mics on all the actors and gathering the sound effects played at crucial moments. 

 

Senior, Gavin Hart, Has been holding down the fort in his sound crew for all four years he has been at Hazelwood West and has now made it to the top as Sound Crewhead. Hart’s mighty team goes out to find collections of SFX to use with the CD player hidden in the back. The only thing they struggle with is managing the new Soundboard he has been fighting to get for a couple of years. The smart bunch of students figured out most of its quirks, though.