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

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Sea Here we are waiting for what you’ve worked so hard for to begin. If you can’t take pride in this production, if this doesn’t make your heart pound — your blood flow — if you don't feel this, then you don’t belong here. Do this for yourself, all of you ... I love you. ai - = Making-up. The make-up room is as important to an ac- tor as shoulder pads are to a football player. Before a performance actors spent several hours putting on their stage make- up. (photo by M. Touhey) Behind the curtain. Dancers as well as actors needed to reherse for their parts. However dancers like Mindy Lyons also had to spend time stretching out before they could begin their rehersal. (photo by M. Touhey) A cosmetic transformation. Before the curtain rises on the opening night. Sandy Hoffenber begins the process of changing herself from a young to an old woman. (photo by M. Touhey) 26 Drama — Behind the Scenes

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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

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Behind the scenes. Although Roberta Davis didn’t step out on the stage. she played a major role in “The Elephant Man.” Davis, a Paul junior. spent hours planning and designing the costumes. (photo by M. Touhey) Before the curtain to help people. Angie Wheeler, a St. Maries senior, has devoted many hours to the theater and has been a stage manager for several UI pro- ductions. When asked what a stage manager does, she laughed and said, “Everything under the sun. You act as a secretary, nursemaid, organizer, disciplinarian and scapegoat. You make sure everything is in its proper place at the proper time. You must think quicker than the director — be one step ahead of him and keep your cool at all times. Believe me, it's dif- ficult sometimes.” Roy Fluhrer, chairman of the theater department and a veteran director and actor, believes that much of the “magic” of the theater depends on what happens backstage, “There's magic within most theatrical groups,” he ex- plains. “And, within the audience. That of the group comes from, I hope, every member of the cast risk- ing himself by opening up to his fellow actors. If this goes on behind the stage as well, then it will become one of those special evenings that are memorable. If we can get the audience to broaden their view of the world — then the magic is real- ly there. It takes an awful lot of peo- ple to make this real.” To create an exchange between the actors and the stage crew, UI'S theater program teaches its majors about all aspects of production with classes in lighting, stagecraft, make- up, and costume design. “We believe,” explains Fluhrer, “that it is important for an actor to know what happens backstage. He’s not the only contributor to a production. If the props, lighting, costumes, make-up, sound and set people don't do their job, the play will not be that successful. That's why we have the actor, along with the stage continued crew, strike the set after the final performance. It gives the group a community feeling — the circle.” And the circle is an important metaphor of the theater. Before most performances, the director calls together the actor and stage crews in the Green Room (a term used to describe the room offstage where the members of a production gather during the performance). Before each performance of “The Elephant Man” Fluhrer called together his crew and actors to talk with them. “All right gang,” he said before “The Elephant Man's” opening per- formance, “Here we are, wailing for what you've worked so hard for to begin. If you can’t take pride in this production if this doesn’t make your heart pound — your blood flow — if you don’t feel this, then you don't belong here. Why do you think I leave my family at home while I spend every night here with you? It's the theater that brings me here and us together. And, we couldn't do this without all of you. We're at- tached — umbilical to umbilical. If we can touch one person, that’s the difference. Do this for yourself, all of you...I love you. Following Fluhrer’s speech, the crowd dispersed. Actors dashed to the make-up room for that last touch of rouge or that last squirt of hair spray. Some sought a quiet corner where they could draw into themselves and their roles. The prop people rushed backstage to wait for their cues. The stagemanager and the sound and lighting crew quick- ly ran upstairs to man the boards. The rest sprawled out in chairs or on the floor to wait for that moment when they must move the set. Everyone had a task to perform and sometimes this task included just waiting. Nicolette Carrell L) Giving it all. Even though it was just a rehersal, Mary Io Blumenshein and other actors worked as if it were opening night. Blumenshein, who played Mrs. Kendall in The Elephant Man” traveled to Washington D.C. with John Morgan to comepte for the Ireane Ryan Drama Award. which Morgan won. (photo by M. Touhey) Behind the Scenes — Drama 27