University of Idaho - Gem of the Mountains Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

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Lighting the way. Susan Klatt, a member of the lighting crew, checks to make sure that the lights are set just right. This procedure is repeated before each performance. (photo by M. Touhey) The finishing touches. Charles Shoemaker, who played the role of Ross, patiently waits while make-up ar- tist Angie Wheeler finishes the job. (photo by M. Touhey) 24 Drama—Behind the Scenes On the job. Stage manager Dave Bell mans the light and sound board during a performance of “The Elephant Man”. (photo by M. Touhey) Green room call. Director Roy Fluhrer calls together the ac- tors and stage crew before the opening per- formance of the play. (photo by M. Touhey)

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are one aspect of university life that students all over the coun- try dread. Common as they may be, it is up to the individual to decide how he will deal with them. At Idaho the methods of coping with finals are as unique as its students. For those few who actually stay caught up with their classes, finals pose no real problem since these students simply have to review material. However, for most students studying is something to be avoided, even for finals. Thus, students have devised some in- genious ways of preparing for ex- ams at the last minute. There are those who F inals. For better or worse, they let everything slide until dead week. Then they spend the entire week staying up until two or three in the morning madly reading twelve weeks’ worth of assignments. These students are often very irritable from a lack of necessary sleep. The true procrastinator, however, dispenses with dead week altogether. Rather, he prefers the “all night cramming session.” These sessions can be divided into two groups. The first features small groups of procrastinators who try to pound the multitude of information intv each other. The second type of all-night studier is the one that studies alone. This student often wakes up the next morning, after inal frustrations Panic-stricken students burn the midnight oil dozing off over his books, and finds a cold, half-full cup of coffee and a partly-eaten bag of chips at his side. Most any student can tell horror stories about living on Vivarin, see- ing through bloodshot eyes. And, most of them will swear never to do it again. Yet come finals week each semester, shortages of stimulates such as Vivarin always arise at the local drugstores. There are many ways to prepare for finals. For the students at Idaho, however, there is only one way to celebrate the culmination of these exams — attending Happy Hour at their favorite bar. Julie Reagan () Bookworm. Lectures can be more meaningful to the students if they keep up on the reading assignments. Scott Tuomey reads over a chapter in his Psychology textbook prior to classtime. (photo by M. Touhey) Problem solving. Matt Fullenwide, a Firth junior in Educa- tion. worries over a challenging problem while studying for an examin the SUB. one of the campus’ most popular study places. (photo by D. Gilbertson) Finals 23

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The early stages. Mary Jo Blumenshenin and John Morgan rehearse their parts for “The Elephant Man.” The early rehearsal was before any stage props or backgrounds had been built. (photo by M. Touhey) = atte y pt. i= efore the curtain rises There’s more to a drama production than what meets the eye riters often claim that they W are slaves to their profes- sion; so do artists, business executives, and engineers. But, af- ter watching the stage crew and actors prepare for the opening per- formance of “The Elephant Man,” I learned what it means to be a slave to a profession. Unless an individual has been directly involved with a theatrical production, he would not realize the numerous people involved in and the hours devoted to directing and producing a play. To guarantee a production's suc- cess the director must not only select the “right” cast, but he also must gather a group of talented and trusted technicians who design, build, care for, and nurse the performance’s less obvious aspects: lighting, sound, sets, costumes, props and music. Each of these individuals then selects other people to help him fulfill his func- tion. So, even though the audience sees only the actors, most produc- tions have an additional twenty or forty people who have worked, or are working, behind the set. Few people even think about the hours the actors devote to memorizing their lines, developing their characters’ personalities, rehearsing with the rest of the cast, and agonizing over the production. Even less consider the other mem- bers of the production who work behind the set. How many times does an onlooker consider how many people or how many hours it took to build the set? Or, design it and make the costumes? Or hang up the lights? And, the more complicated the play, the larger the crew. For example, at least twenty additional people, not including the actors, devoted much of their time to working behind the curtain of “The Elephant Man.” If the audience realized this, they would probably appreciate even a bad production. Naturally, when an audience ap- preciates a good production and demonstrates, through applause, this appreciation, they at least sub- conciously thank the hardworking, dedicated backstage crew as well as the actors. But, since the actors are onstage, they stand face-to- face with the audience, and feel this appreciation more than those backstage. What then, makes a person willing to give so much of himself without receiving any ap- parent rewards? Wendy Fountain, a senior in Costume Design, claims that she decided to major in costuming because she loves the theater and designing. “At one time,” she claimed, “I wanted to go into fashion design, but I also wanted and needed a place in the theater. So, I combined the two and found an area that interests me and gives me something I need. Something which combines research and fact with my interests, I don’t really care that the people on the street don't recognize me, because that's not what I'm after. What does mat- ter is that my ideas help people on- stage to work well in their parts and the audience to remember them. Many people who work backstage do so because they know they are important to the production and because they like continued Drama—Behind the Scenes 25