stage technology

 

Stage Tech is an integral part of the Gunn Theatre department. Stage Tech and Advanced Stage Tech are taught by Jen Ellington and Chris Mahle, and meet on Tuesdays from 4:20-6:20pm. Students enrolled in Stage Tech may also dual enroll at Foothill College and receive both high school and college credit. 

Stage Tech students are responsible for creating the world of the play being produced by Gunn Theatre. This includes researching the world of the play, designing the right set, props, lighting and sound space for either the Little Theatre or Spangenberg, and then creating and building this world. 

For our main Spring and Fall productions, stage tech students are assigned to one of these eight crews:

 

construction

This crew mainly focuses on the set of a play or musical. They learn and practice how to safely use saws and drills as they construct one and two-story sets. They learn how to build weight bearing platforms and lighter flats to be painted.

PAINT

This crew turns our fastenings of lumber into an aesthetically pleasing, dramaturgically accurate set! They design and pick out colors that highlight the period drama, comedy, or musical.

SOUND

This crew focuses on sound cues needed for a play. They may deal with placing speakers and researching what music or sound cues are needed.

lighting

This crew designs and creates the lighting for the play or musical in production. They learn how to operate, hang, and focus a variety of lighting instruments. They may use physics and math to determine how many instruments are needed to light an actor or set piece.

COSTUMES

This crew makes sure our actors look fabulous on stage. Costume crew researches the time period and place where our play is set. They then go hunting for dramaturgically accurate costumes, or sometimes sew themselves. They make sure these costumes fit appropriately and sometimes run costumes during a show, helping with quick changes and organization.

MAKEUP

This crew makes sure that the hair and makeup of an actor is character-specific and appropriate for the stage. This crew also sometimes creates masks and fitted wigs.

PUBLICITY

This crew makes sure that everyone in Palo Alto knows a Gunn Theatre play or musical is being performed. Through use and design of posters and social media, the publicity crew gets the word out! We know they’ve done their job when our plays sell out.

HOUSE

This crew manages the audience that comes to see the play. They help check in audience members at the door, create waitlists for sold-out shows, direct audience members to open seats, and make sure that the audience is having a good experience before the play begins.

RUN

This crew does a variety of tasks that happen during the run of the play. They might work the fly rail to bring set pieces in and out. They might help with scene changes or run the light or sound board. The main requirement for this crew is that they be available during the shows!

 

Producing a play includes several milestones: our First Read-Thru, Designer Run, Sitz Prob, Costume Parade, Q2Q process, etc.. We strive at Gunn Theatre to reproduce the production organization and calendar of professional and community theaters.  We have multiple Tech Weekends before our production opens, and students are expected to be available if their crew is called. 

Tech Week takes place in the week prior to opening night of the performance. Students stay after school every day that week until the evening for a Tech Dress rehearsal. Tech students run sounds, lights, and polish all other technical elements of the show, and cast members act in full costume and makeup.

And then the moment we’ve all been waiting for happens: The lights go up on our first performance, and the audience gets to enjoy the result of all our hard work!