~Cooper Low, Class of 2025

Not a bad thing at all.

As I went to sign up for my new art class for the rest of the year, it made me feel good about what I accomplished in Theater Tech. Even though Theater Tech wasn’t my first option, I still had a lot of fun and would recommend it to everyone to try. A lesson it gave me was that the behind the scenes work is just as important as the rest of the play to put together a well rounded performance.

I was stuck on the question of what arts class would I want to be in for the entire semester? I liked the thought of building a guitar from scratch in Woodworking, and I put that as my number one choice. Theater Tech was my second option. It seemed like a good opportunity to try something new. It was Thursday and class started on Monday, so I had little time to second guess it all. 

The first couple of classes were slow and not very inspiring, learning about the basics of theater tech and the tasks we had to do to prepare for the play. Soon enough we picked our jobs, and things got more interesting. I chose Light Manager because I wanted to challenge myself as much as I could and to get the full experience of what it’s like to be in the booth. It was daunting at first, the huge keyboard of random words and cues. At the beginning, I was so confused my thoughts were whirling around like a tornado inside my brain. 

One teacher was helping with the props backstage and the other teacher was helping with the sound board, so it was just me and my lighting assistant to figure it out on our own. With some help, we jotted down notes on how to create cues, label and number them, and then save them. After we had those basics down it was somewhat smooth sailing. Soon, we were ready for the rehearsals. 

Things went well during that first run-through, but there was still a lot of work to be done to be ready for final performances. It was challenging to know when to cut the lights and change scenes because the actors were also a little shaky, but I had the correct order of lights and only small changes were necessary. With rehearsals after school every day, this week was especially challenging because I also had hockey and lacrosse practices that I was determined to get to. 

Some days I would go from the rehearsals straight to practice, returning home with just enough time for a quick shower and snack before bed. It was a very long and tiring week but at the end of it all, I had a bunch of fun with the cast and crew. I was very confident and proud of my work, and I appreciated the hard work of my crewmates. I felt the booth performed at our highest level. Playing a behind the scenes but critical role in the success of a production was extremely gratifying. Knowing that I also helped other cast and crew members pursue their passions is something I’m proud of, too. 

In the end, I’m happy that I landed in Theater Tech, and I’m looking forward to our next play this week.