Allie Perison
Editor in Chief

Many of us associate the plays we see with the actors who perform in them, but most do not consider what goes on behind the scenes. Beyond the curtain is a world yet to be revealed of blocking, audio and props: the world that is backstage.

Senior assistant directors Rachel Humphries and Allison Rammare both in charge of keeping order backstage during shows. While audiences crowd the theater and enjoy the show, it is Humphries and Ramm who work to assure that everything in the show is running smoothly.

“Our job is to make sure that everything is ready for the show,” Ramm said. “Basically, we make sure that everything is in the right place and that everything looks ok.”

Their duties include working things from lights to managing run throughs. Those students who choose to work backstage come to every practice. From the start, they begin their jobs by writing down where the actors go on stage, also known as blocking. When props are needed, the backstage crew is in charge of getting them and keeping track of them for the show.

“Working backstage is a lot of pressure,” Ramm said. “It is fun, but I don’t think I could do it as my real job because of the stress. I wouldn’t want to be on stage either though. I was in one play, and it was one of the scariest moments of my life. It was a thrill, but backstage is clearly where I belong.

Being a stage manager is a more difficult job that consists of keeping order during shows. Ramm has served as the stage manager for this year’s musical Anything Goes. She worked in the wings on the theater making sure that no actors missed their entrances and made sure that actors did not get too loud during performances.

“Allison basically runs the show making sure all props and sets make it on stage in time, plus even sometimes the actors,” Tabor said.  “Rachel not only assists me in all rehearsals but then she goes up and calls all lighting and sound cues for the entire show.”

Both Humphries and Ramm work very closely with Tabor.

“I do all of the left side of the brain activity so that Ms. Tabor can do all of the right side of the brain activity,” Humphries said. “Ms. Tabor creates the vision and we just make sure everything happens the way she wants it by keeping track of the cast with their costumes, sets and mikes.”

Humphries and Ramm are also best friends, which is an added plus to their assistant director positions, although both agreed that it is all labor when working on a play.

“During the shows it is so busy that Rachel and I rarely see each other,” Ramm said. “We mainly communicate through headset and when we put those on it is all business. It’s great because we know how to work well together.”

As for feeling underappreciated and unrecognized, Humphries and Ramm modestly agreed that the real credit should go to the actors.

“People always say that we don’t get enough credit, but the truth is that we are not the ones out on stage,” Humphries said. “I am not the one in front of the audience. I’m just telling them what to do. They are the one who are actually making it happen.”

photo by Kristen Hart and Marybeth Walker