If you’ve ever been to a play, you’ve seen all the hard work that the actors put in. But what you may or may not have noticed is how much work the backstage tech crew put in. This can often go unnoticed by the audience because all tech crew are required to wear black so that they can blend in with the darkness backstage or the shadows of the mezzanine. 

This article covers the happenings behind the stage of Montrose’s most recent musical, The Sound of Music, from the stage crew’s perspective. When we first joined The Sound Of Music, we got assigned to move the periaktoi in the background. What were the periaktoi, you may ask? They were the tall, triangular structures with different images painted on each side. You probably spotted us moving them during scene changes. 

The first time we moved the periaktoi, it was a hot mess. Even though these look easy to move, they really aren’t. Some of the periaktoi were in front of the others, and sometimes they got stuck. We also had to move it quickly so there wouldn’t be random people still on stage while the show was going on. But as hopeless as we had started out, we improved over the course of tech week, even though none of us thought that we were improving. By the time opening night came, we realized we weren’t doing as badly as the first day.

A few tech crew members expressed how at times the performance could get a bit stressful. One of the people who moved the sets with us, Kiley Wolcott ‘28, said: “I think it was pretty good, but it could get very hectic when all the nuns or a lot of people were standing backstage when we had to move the set pieces on and off.”

When we asked some of the crew members how they would rate the performance on a scale of 1-10, many said numbers between 8.5 and 10. Many also really enjoyed their jobs, some of them including costumes, stage props, spotlights, and of course, moving the periaktoi. 

Kate Regan ‘25, who was on sound cues, said: “Being the Sound Cues Op. was so fun and engaging. It felt like I was really part of the show and that I helped it come alive.” 

Anna Rose Marshall ‘28, who was on costumes, said: “I had so much fun on costumes, and Mrs. Wanner was an amazing director of it! My friends were also there to help me so that made everything a lot easier. I would definitely do it again if I got the chance!”

After the show, lots of people came up to the actors and the tech crew. An audience member even said: “Even though I wasn’t in Stage Crew, watching them in the musical was very impressive. Everything went smoothly, and it all looked very professional. I even heard others compliment the job of the Crew in the audience, and it truly reflected what happened on Stage. The whole thing really brought the musical together.”

Although Friday night’s performance started out a bit rough, we got better as it went on. The Saturday show was very similar to the Friday show. The show ran smoothly and nothing too bad happened. And even if we messed up, we learned from those moments and got back onto our feet. The managers and other stage crew members were also very supportive and encouraging, especially Ms. Fernandes, the director of tech! All in all, we had lots of fun being part of the musical and would very much recommend it. It is an experience that we would definitely like to do again.

By Chloe Dias ‘27, Lilly-Rose Madani ‘27, and Tvesha Patel ‘27, Staff Writers

27cdias@montroseschool.org, 27lmadani@montroseschool.org, & 27tpatel@montroseschool.org