6 minute read
Theater Production
prep time
BEFORE SHOWTIME
Before the first scene of a Midland University performance is ever played out, there is a long list of behind the scenes work that must take place.
Months and months of planning, dozens of performers and workers, and hundreds of hours of preparation and practice make everything click during a three-hour performance.
It’s a process that staff, cast, and crew members embrace and it all begins a year in advance when Dan Hays, Director of Theater Activities, begins planning out what a performance list will look like. “We start looking a year ahead, applying for rights to shows, and starting to work with faculty on who will be involved,” Hays said. “You put a list of shows together, but quite often you can be denied permission to do that show, so then you have to refigure everything.”
Hays said many factors come into play when choosing performances for a given year. “We try to find shows that would be the right fit for the students we have at that time,” he said. “Some years we might have larger groups of males or females, so we have to plan for that. We also have to realize we only have so many resources to work with, so if we plan for a show that is expensive to perform, we need to counteract with a less expensive show.”
Shows can range from traditional classics to new musicals. Hays says students aren’t afraid to offer up their opinions on which shows they would like to perform, but he also wants to be cognisant of the audience they are performing for. “Our demographic can be a bit unusual in that a lot are either 70 and older, or 20 and younger, so we try to find a nice mix,” he said. “We want to educate not only our students, but the populus in Fremont. In the old musicals, the plot was always boy meets girl, boy loses girl, then boy gets girl back and everyone ends up happy. The new musicals are not like that.”
30 Midland Magazine
-JERRY DITTER
Once a playlist is set, the work begins to assemble cast and crew. Little time is wasted once students are on campus as auditions take place on the second day of classes for students. All of the fall semester performances are cast after auditions, although some rearranging will take place to make sure the schedule works for everyone involved. “We want to make sure our students get the parts that are the best fit for them, so we might have to do a little swapping to get people in the right roles,” Hays said. “We’ve found it works best to do auditions at the beginning of the school year because students aren’t stressed with big tests or have a million assignments to do.”
Hays then begins to work with his team, which includes Rex Barker (recently retired Director of Instrumental Music), Jerry Ditter (Director of Technical Arts), and Lee Meyer (Adjunct Professor of Theater) to assemble a crew and find directors for each production. “We have a plethora of directors on staff so we will each take a turn directing a performance,” Hays said. “It helps that we all get along and work together very well.”
Once auditions are complete, rehearsals for the first performance in October begin immediately. Construction for the sets begins in late summer and continues throughout the performance season. “We’re always working one show ahead,” Ditter said. “From our initial rehearsal we begin the groundwork for the design phase of each performance. The design part is mostly student-led, and we normally need about 7 to 10 students for each performance.”
Ditter said being organized is an important part of the design process. “It’s all about pre-planning,” he said. “My role as technical director stops once the students take over. I’m around in case of an emergency, but I’m not here pushing buttons.”
Hays said an important part of the learning process for
Theater Production
31
students is having a role in all aspects of a performance, be it as actors, directors, stage managers, or musicians. “A typical show will have 40 to 50 students involved, and we want them involved in all aspects,” he said. “We have some students who never want to be on stage, but will work as stage managers. But those students are still required to take acting and directing because if they are working with actors, they need to know those roles and what they do.”
With many of the shows being of the musical variety, Hays likes to provide at least one live performance by the Midland orchestra. “Dan and I will discuss each season and figure out which show would be best for a live pit,” Barker said. “It’s something our students love to do. It also gives our students the opportunity to be on stage for one show, then performing in the orchestra for the next performance.
“Our live pit can vary from 15 to 18 people to as few as 3 or 4. It’s a great way for them to get involved, and many of our students have gone on to play for other performances, high schools, and summer community theaters.” The work leading up to a show can be tiresome, stressful, and challenging. But once the big night has arrived, all of the hard work leading up to this point can be rewarded with a great performance. “By the time we get around to that first live performance, we are ready,” Hays said. “I’ve been to places where every night they are changing things around from the previous show. We don’t do that here. Once opening night hits, I try to hide because at that point, the director can only get in the way.
“I’ve had to learn to sit back and watch like a member of the audience, instead of like a director who knows where every little flaw is. It’s taken me many years to work on it, but I’ve learned to sit back and enjoy the show.”
Ditter said seeing everything come together on opening night is rewarding for the entire cast and crew, whether onstage or backstage. “I enjoy seeing when student designers are successful,” he said. “The look on their face, when everything works, is incredible. They all strive for a feeling of success and accomplishment, and I’m happy to be part of that.”
32 Midland Magazine
Most shows feature five performances (including one for faculty and staff). Once that performance is put to bed, there is little time for celebration as another show looms in the distance. Once the first semester shows have completed their run, work is already under way for the spring semester shows with auditions taking place before students leave for holiday break, and the process begins all over again.
“I always joke about this with my students because they have such euphoria at the end of a performance, and then incredible depression because it’s over,” Hays said. “I’m fortunate that I haven’t felt that for 25 years because I’m already on to the next show. Maybe someday when I hang my boots up, I’ll have this one big depression that will last for months.”
As a longtime veteran of the theater in many roles, Hays appreciates every show his group is able to put on. “I get asked what my favorite show is and I always tell people it’s the one I’m working on at that time,” he said. “I’ve been around a lot of great shows in my time and you always get so involved, then move on to the next thing. So whatever show I might be working on becomes my favorite.”
Theater Production
