What you don't see

Think about the last theatrical performance you attended. Recall the lights coming on and the opening music swelling. Picture how the stage was set; try to remember the costumes and the props. Now think about how all of these elements were used to enhance the visual aspect of the performance; think about how different the show would have been without them.

     Developing a lighting and sound scheme and creating costumes and props are not last minute projects. These tasks take many months of organization, preparation, and hands-on work to create the alternate reality the audience sees on the stage. 

     With Viterbo's musical, "Assassins," opening next weekend, the students and faculty of the production crew are all busy finalizing their tasks and tweaking every detail they may find amiss while watching the dress rehearsals. But how did the crew get to this point? Just as actors start with a read-through of the script to get a sense of the show, so does the director, sound designer, props master, and costume designer. However, each member of the crew reads the script with a different focus in mind. 

     "The first time I read through the script, I address my initial response," Dana McConnell, assistant professor of theatre, and director for "Assassins" told Lumen. "The second time I think about the production as well as the production history, starting with performances in New York and London. I anticipate staging, I think about the history of the characters, and I study the audience reception of the piece."

     Lumen learned that the remainder of the crew had some different views in mind when reading the script through for the first time.

     Chad Kolbe, assistant professor of theatre, and sound designer for "Assassins," began with an initial read-through, like McConnell, but on the second reading Kolbe narrowed his focus.

     "I focus on any sound elements that may need to be addressed," Kolbe said. "Once I find those elements I prepare a meeting with the director and musical director to discuss these elements. For ‘Assassins,' I really began focusing on the sound elements in mid-September."

     For Tonya Laws, a junior technical theatre and arts administration double major, from Janesville, Wis., and assistant props designer and props master for "Assassins," the second reading involves time and some paperwork.

     "I need to make up a props list in which I write down every prop that is mentioned in the script, which scene it's in, and also the character that needs it," she said. "My next step is to do research to see what all of those items looked like in the time period the play is taking place in."

     Laws found some of the props in Viterbo's theatre storage. Some are bought or rented from outside Viterbo, and some items are made. For example, "Assassins" requires the simulated use of guns in the show. 

     "Most of them are revolvers. We do have one modified revolver that is made to look like a semi-automatic. We are also using one rifle and one flintlock. They are as close to the actual guns that were used as we were able to find and to be shipped to us for a reasonable price. We are renting all of the weapons from a company called Weapons of Choice out of California."

     There is also a specific protocol for these guns to ensure every person's safety. "All of the guns have the barrels completely blocked, so there is no possible way for anything to come out of the barrels," Laws said.

     "We are using blanks for all of the guns and they are all able to fire except the rifle. When they are not being used onstage, they need to be kept in a locked cabinet. Only one assigned person is able to go into that cabinet to take guns out or put them back in. It will also be that same person who does the loading and unloading of all of the blanks and also cleaning the guns after the shows. Over-night, that locked cabinet goes into a locked room."