“One, two, three, and lift!” All at once the students in Stagecraft hoist a work-in-progress bleacher  for the Fall Play and place it cautiously on a table in the Woodshop room. They lift two more bleachers as other students, clad in paint-flecked smocks, carry buckets of paint across the room.

There is never a dull moment. Laughter and shouts for supplies echo throughout Room 113. “Stagecraft is never really a stressful environment,” sophomore Zen Lynch said. “We do what we need to do, but chat and make jokes along the way.”

Stagecraft takes place every Tuesday and Thursday during G period, but the members of Stagecraft work overtime almost every class. “We tend to go until 5 o’clock, but it depends on the show,” Shop teacher and head of Stagecraft Nick Rupard said. “If the show has a lot of technical details, we find ourselves here nightly working till 6:00 or 6:30.”

Stagecraft is also present at nearly every rehearsal.  “At the beginning, it’s a lot less stressful for stagecraft,” Lynch said. “But during tech week we, along with the actors, have to be there until 9:00 and sometimes even 10:00.”

Tech week, typically a week or two before the opening night of a play, is when performers begin blocking with the set, lights, and costumes. There is a lot of waiting, experimenting, and moving things back and forth, according to Lynch.

During that time, Stagecraft focuses all their energy into making sure that the moment performers set foot on stage, everything runs smoothly. Stagecraft is often in charge of the set, props, program, poster, curtains, and lights. Lynch said, “We all have to pitch in our strengths and divide and conquer.”

When Rupard is told what the next play or musical will be for the Upper School, he immediately begins to work. “It’s like doing a research paper,” Rupard said. “I like to read the script and see what other people have done before. Once I get the idea, then I have to see what I can do with the budget given.”

Photo by Jenna Mansueto

Once Rupard forms his vision, Stagecraft sets to work: starting out with just a sketch, they formulate ways to make it come to life. Then, piece by piece, they collect the materials necessary and build the sets we enjoy during Upper School productions.

While the exact budgets for the fall and spring musicals were not available, Stagecraft has a significantly larger budget for the spring musical than the fall musical, according to Rupard.

Rupard also works at another theater company, Quest Theatre Ensemble, which stages large-scale puppetry theatre. Quest Theatre believes that art should be accessible to everyone and because of that, they don’t charge admission. “I’ve been doing this so long it becomes second nature to me,” Rupard said. “It’s all I know and what I do best.”

Even while everyone chats and has a good time in class, students make progress and small details on the bleachers emerge. “I like being a part of Stagecraft,” senior Ricardo Rodriguez said, “because I get to participate in theatre without having to go on stage.”

The Stagecraft Crew and Rupard continue to work even after the music announcing the end of the period has played. Lynch said, “People just don’t notice how much work gets put into that one table or that one wall.”

Leading up to performances and during them, Stagecraft puts in as a much effort as they can to make a good show. Everyone in Stagecraft helps enhance the performance and helps out the actors, according to sophomore Alex Loma. “Here’s the truth,” Loma said. “Where would we be without Stagecraft?”