In order for a musical to happen, a dedicated crew is necessary for success; they make sure that the work on stage can be seen and heard by the audience. Music, lighting, sound, and outstanding management of those components are instrumental for a successful musical, even if they are never seen by the audience.
Pit Orchestra director Micheal Riggs has had to play to the strengths of his instrumentalists and learn how the songs go ahead of time with preparation. There are many different instruments playing at once that students are not used to playing, and one of the biggest challenges for pit has been getting in and out of each song; meaning the transition from song to dialogue, but sometimes those lines are blurred.
“There’s a song going on underneath somebody’s dialogue,” Riggs said. “So it’s not just how the song goes, it’s getting in and out of that.”
Riggs and his directing are the backbone of the music of “Legally Blonde” and he appreciates how his director role is different from the others. The head, choral, dance and tech directors are typically sitting back and watching the show, putting it all in the student’s hands, but Riggs is conducting the pit orchestra through the music.
“I like the fact that I’m still performing with everybody,” Riggs said.
As seasoned seniors in the lights department, Josh Mendez and Bryan Foszcz are well prepared for “Legally Blonde’s” opening night. Both of them also have a big role in teaching new crew members how to work the lights and are proud of the work that they have done. Spotlights have become extremely important in this show, and the two are quick to make sure they hit their mark when they have to. There are many scenes in which a spotlight is moving along the stage to focus on a character and Mendez and Foszcz credit their experience for making that happen.
Sophomore Simona Valiokas, freshman Daren Palmere and sophomore Sophia Fiocchi have become leaders in the sound department. Their job is to make sure all of the actors’ voices are well heard and engineer all the music. They taught new people everything through “sound boot camps,” which they found to be beneficial in making sure the sound process went smoothly. These boot camps have paid off, and now nearing the first performance, the music and singing are blending very well.
“We had one meeting a month where we would go over the basics of how to use the board, how to navigate the studio and how to work with the microphones,” Valiokas said.
Stage managers senior Riley Hughes and junior Jack Menzies described this musical in one word: change. The tech department is always evolving and changing and the effects of that start usually with the stage managers. However, this year they have had to face a challenge the tech department has never had: too many people.
“My freshman year, we had five people for the play,” Menzies said. “Now we have 35 people on tech, which is more than cast.”
Additionally, “Legally Blonde” is being directed by new teacher Stephanie Henkel, a graduate of Illinois State University. Having a new director meant a plethora of different methods in how rehearsal for the musical is done, but the stage managers have been running “Legally Blonde” incredibly efficiently and productively.
Combining music, lighting, sound, and management has led to an amazing production process called “Legally Blonde.” “Legally Blonde” will be performed six times this week; Wednesday will be a special performance for the Antioch Senior Center and Thursday will be for the Antioch Upper Grade School’s eighth graders during the school day. The opening night is Thursday, April 17, at 7 pm, with performances on Friday and Saturday at the same time. Sunday’s performance will be at 2 pm and all performances will be held in the ACHS auditorium. Tickets can be found here.
