Published in Hanford Sentinel June 18, 2021
One of my most favorite things in the world is to be in a room with happy creative people. The energy is fun and invigorating. I have had ample opportunities to be with creative people and I totally recommend it to others. Whether you are a member of a cast, crew, or as an audience member, the interaction is energizing.
With my playwright background, I am immensely aware that a play production success is with multiple creative people. Crew, or backstage people, are especially essential to a play production.
Lighting is not just technical, it involves inventiveness and creativity. Scott Yarborough is HMTC’s sound and light engineer with a passion for music, computers, and anything technical.
Recently, Scott came in to do some lighting work for the play Death of a Social Security Benefit. I watched Scott do lighting for a funny scene in the play. There is a scene where the police arrive to the home of Jack and Shirley. He needed to show police lights outside a window. Then dim the police lights to make it appear that the characters were outside near a police officer vehicle. When he accomplished this lighting effect, we in the theater cheered with delight.
I had purchased a gadget to make a voice change when speaking into a microphone. Scott studied the gadget and integrated it into our sound and light equipment. I was completely lost on how to get that gadget to work, but he knew what to do. In fact, while he was adding it, he finetuned the sound equipment in the theater.
Another crew member is the director. Raymond Gomez is the director of the play. He is another creative person that is fun to be around. His idea for staging this new play is impeccable. It impresses me that though he is only in his mid-twenties, he has a remarkable intuitiveness that will serve the play well. His attention to detail will impress audiences. Raymond is sure to make the show fun not just for the audience, but also for the actors and crew.
Another backstage person, or crew member is the costume director. Camia Scherer is the costume director for this play and is working with Raymond Gomez on the best way to represent the characters. This takes a lot of discussion and creativity to make the costumes true to the characters. It may sound easy, but it is not. The costumes must correspond with scenes in the play.
By the above few examples, you can see how crew or backstage people are important. In regional theater often there are 20 or more crew members.
We are excited to present the world premiere of DEATH OF A SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT. Mark your calendar for these dates: July 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and August 1. Limited seating to stay within the safety guidelines. Suggested donation per person is $12 and will be made available online and at My Corazon bookstore next week. Location of this play is where we give acting classes at 14060 Hackett Street, Hanford, CA.
It you have talents, or want to explore theater, get a hold of us. Go to our website and subscribe at www.HanfordMTC.com.
