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By Alex Pimentel/Staff Writer
The stage is dark as junior Emily Nelson sets foot in the theater at 7 p.m., but it is only one hour until curtain at Whittier Center Theatre.
In half an hour the theater will be filled with an expecting audience and the back stage area will be bustling with actors going over lines and choreography to make the perfect entrance.
Emily Nelson, stage manager for the production, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, is responsible for making sure that everything looks good for the performers during the length of the show.
Having almost three years of experience with the stage crew at Bishop Amat, Nelson is no stranger to the black wooden stage, complicated set pieces and technical equipment needed for the show.
Most theater goers believe the show starts when the curtain goes up, but for Emily the show started three months before that on a Saturday afternoon when construction of the set for the play began.
Nelson supervises all parts of technical preparation for the show including set construction and design, performance night technical work, and stage direction during the production. Her tools are a script, pencil, and radio headset.
The saws, paint, and nails are important, but the most important part of Nelson’s job comes on show night. That script is her bible as it holds all the stage directions and change instructions that have been set and reset by the director, Ms. Sandra Roberts.
From her stage right position she communicates by radio with the other two technical centers for the show – The sound and light booth and stage left. These centers are in constant communication with each other to ensure the success of the production.
She does not work alone, but all the workings of the stage are her responsibility. She has a dedicated crew of five students that work with her on the set changes and the creation of the set.
Wearing blacks, these students are the unsung heroes of the high school production. They work alongside the actors but they do not get to make a final curtain call when the night is ended.
However, for Nelson the satisfaction come not from a curtain call, but from a deeper sense of accomplishment at the end of the night.
“I look back at the performance and am glad to see the joy of the performers, and the audience and that tells me I did a good job,” said Nelson.
Her crew agreed with her assessment wholeheartedly as they enjoy working under her every night.
Ms. Roberts appreciated Nelson’s hard work.
“She is by far the best stage managers we’ve ever had,” Ms. Roberts said.
Even though the black clothes of Nelson and her crew may hide them from the audience, the cast is fully aware of the sacrifices and work of the technical crew.
“They are at every rehearsal, but they work outside in the sun to ready everything by the production deadlines,” said Tori Reyes, a sophomore actress.
