The Hawk

Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Entertainment

Lauren Davis '08 takes stage direction.

Allie Steele '10 tries not to let the stress get to her.

"The Immigrant" has forced its stars to spend hours in rehearsal, act around a completely unique set, and even learn Yiddish!

However, the actors are not the only ones who have been putting in long hours over the past couple of months in order to retell the story of the young Russian Jew, Haskell Harelik (Gregory Norton, '08). The director, set designer, stage manager, and various other crew positions have been planning every move, sound, and lighting effect you see before you on the stage. While the actors rehearse lines, blocking, and delivery, months of behind-the-scenes planning are being put into motion.

The planning process begins with the designing of the set, for which Director, Laura Grace Patillo, Ph. D., enlisted Reed West, a scenic designer she had worked with at Richmond, for his creative eye. Having worked on "The Immigrant" approximately 10 years ago with Patillo cast as Ima Perry (now played by Maggie Brady, '09), West recreated and scaled down the original plans from memory for the current production. The cast and crew are certainly impressed by his efforts, as Norton exclaimed, "I think the set very well incorporates turn of the century architectural design with modern spatial concepts. It is a nice and subtle bridge which acclimates a modern-day audience with the time period." The show also must be marketed, rehearsed, and run over and over again under the watch of the director and stage management.

Allie Steele, assistant stage manager of "The Immigrant", explains that stage management is often just as invested in a performance, if not more, than the actors. It's hard to "[keep] organized when you have so many things on your plate. I work, I do things with the church, I carry six courses," all while attending each rehearsal and noting every detail that must be worked on.

It is difficult for people outside the theater to fathom exactly how much work goes into a production such as "The Immigrant". Marissa McGeehan, '07 serves as the props mistress for the show and has spent hours searching for and locating everything from fresh produce to period furniture pieces, often laying out her own money until she is reimbursed by the school. These hours are tireless, and she is not the only one putting in a tremendous amount of legwork that is often never seen. Nick Asensio, '08, serves as the projection operator, timing the slideshow that continually adds a touch of historical context throughout the show. "[The slides] offer a visual counterpart to the words and themes expressed by the actors."

In some ways, what happens behind-the-scenes is a sort of performance in itself. It is the actions of these dedicated individuals that allow the performance to go on. Asensio, more often an actor than a crew member, has taken on a new understanding for each piece of the behind the scenes puzzle. "I didn't realize how important the crew was to having the show run smoothly and I definitely appreciate all of the behind-the-scenes work a lot more now," he explained. The intricate series of events that must occur backstage seems endless, and difficult to remember, let alone accomplish. Steele, originally a performer like Asensio, explains how stage management parallels the experience of performing on stage. "[You have to] pay attention to the context of the show," in order to realize what needs to be done. This is especially true with a rotating set, and other crucial set pieces that roll out from the wings during the course of the production. "Knowing the content of the show is really important for [both] knowing lines, and for knowing what to do behind the scenes," explained Steele. This makes the job of the running crew especially hard, since they are in a sense the "movers" and must come in the week before the show and learn the context and their tasks all at once. This is a physically intensive job that requires crewmembers Michael Rogan, '07, James Palermo, '10, to actually lay down behind the set during an entire scene so that they can rotate it while the scene is still taking place without being spotted by the audience.

With all this going on, it seems like both the cast and crew never get a break. When asked if she will get a chance to rest between this production and Cabaret, opening this April, Steele joked, "What is this rest you speak of? I don't rest, I drink Diet Coke." Serving as props mistress for Cabaret, she explained that she will not be "jumping into quite as much work right off the bat, but [she has] to start immediately, and the work will begin to snowball quickly."

So why do students ceaselessly devote their time and energy to a job that is so often taken for granted by an audience? Many of the students who work on the set are on a scholarship for participation in Cap & Bells Dramatic Arts Society, but Steele makes an important point: "If you spend a great deal of time with a group of people, you start to develop relationships with them."

Now that the first week is done, Steele "feels good about the outcome as a whole." Although the show has had its stressful points for everyone during the preparation process, she has faith in the teamwork that bloomed opening night and hopefully will continue into next weekend's productions. What is left? A last request from Steele: "Come see 'The Immigrant'. Please."

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