When one thinks of “theatre” they think of acting and performing. What they don’t think of is the set or the time and effort tons of people put into constructing that set. They don’t think of who publicized the show, of who found all of the props, of who made the costumes that the actors are wearing or of who did the actors’ hair and makeup. Details are the aspects that make up a techies life. But, how/where does one become a techie? They either stay after school to help out or they take Stage Productions.
 
What is Stage Productions? “Stage productions is Theater, minus acting.” said, the teacher of the class, Mr. LaBelle. “It’s everything that goes into creating the show. Everything off stage from lights, to sound, to building, to props, to selling the tickets, to finding the money for the show.” In short: Stage Productions is everything behind the scenes. Members of the class design sets for plays, make their own light shows, and are even required to do 10 hours of theatre service.

Alexander Churchill (’12) said, “It’s a very fun class for those who want to learn about the technical side of theatre. It’s going to be difficult in the beginning, but it gets better as the class goes on.” But it’s not just what one is learning that makes the class fun. It’s also the teacher who makes the class fun. “Mr. LaBelle is a really good teacher. He’s a hands on teacher. There aren’t many classes that we’re just sitting down. We’re always doing something,” Churchill continued.

So, if building seems fun, costumes sound interesting or even if learning how to do lights sounds entertaining, then Stage Productions might be a good class to take. It’s where one can go and learn how to do a little bit of everything. Annie Silva (’12) said, “Stage Productions really teaches you a lot, and you have fun while you’re learning.”