The official student newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929

The Merionite

The official student newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929

The Merionite

The official student newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929

The Merionite

Behind the scenes: an inside look at tech week

There is a lot that goes into the magical productions that Players presents. It takes a lot long hours, stress, and hard work to create such a captivating show.

For most of us, it is easy to watch a musical and be entertained, but not many people think about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Here at LM, Players is putting on a performance of Disney’s beloved Beauty and the Beast. This production took a lot of time and effort, especially during tech week. For those who don’t know, tech is held the week —or in this case, weeks— before the performances debut. The cast and run crew rehearse after school and on weekends (seven hours at a time on average), often in full costume. Those hours can be a mixed bag of tedium and gaiety both; as Anusha Vyas ’23 puts it, “The hours are long, but I get to spend time with all my friends. We have a good time.”

Performing is a real balancing act: thespians have to sing, dance, act, and remember one’s lines, all concurrently. Tech week is a lot of multitasking both onstage and off; it is easy to become overwhelmed outside of the theater as well. “[I]t’s quite exhausting, especially staying on top of school work and sleep,” noted Aspen Steinhart 26. But the best part, at least according to Rose Warren 25, is watching the show come together: “I think the cast and the company and everyone involved has worked really hard, and that it’s going to pay off.” Aelen Gallagher ’25 agreed: “All the actors look and sound amazing, and the lights and the set really transform the stage!”

As Aelen pointed out, no show, particularly a musical of this magnitude, could involve the actors alone. In addition to actors, Players is made up of groups that manage publicity, scenery, lighting and sound (colloquially known as electrics), hair & makeup, and costumes. “It can be pretty chaotic, but it’s all in good fun… We get work done, we get the set done,” said Claire Messam ’23 from Scenery. Additionally, Players is fortunate enough to have an in-house student orchestra, affectionately dubbed “Shorc.” 

Ari Schwadron ’25 summed up the controlled chaos and occasional bursts of euphoria of lengthy rehearsals and shows by describing it as “Long hours, lots of effort, but lots of enjoyment.” The tech process concludes with a few dress rehearsals (a more polished version of tech) and a series of shows — those are like dress rehearsals, but, of course, with an audience. On behalf of Players, I hope that you all enjoyed seeing the culmination of our efforts as much as we enjoyed making it!

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