With bright lights, roaring voices and jaw-dropping costumes, the School of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) hosts multiple large theater productions each semester that leave audiences in awe. However, these spectacular performances would not be possible without the stagehands that work behind the scenes.

Artie Smith, a junior vocal performance major, has participated in multiple VAPA productions and events as a performer and stagehand for musicals and operas during their time in VAPA. During the Fall 2024 opera, “Dido and Aeneas,” Smith performed as the Sorceress. Smith was also the stage manager for the Fall 2023 play, “Treasure Island.”

When Smith worked backstage as a stage manager, they would block, a term for writing stage instructions for the performers, control the lights and help with costumes.

“Working backstage, typically we would just be helping move set pieces onstage during shows, making sure things look correct, making sure we assembled things we need properly and making sure we get all of our props,” Smith said.

Backstage, stagehands are constantly working behind the scenes to set up productions. The jobs of a stagehand include setting up lights, stage sets, props and costumes for the performers on stage. The flow of communication during a scene starts with the performers, then the directors and ends with the stagehands.

Smith comments that performers, directors and stagehands work together to form a positive environment where the goal is to make the best performance possible for the audience.

“It’s not very much like ‘hey, shut up. You’re just an actor, you don’t know what you’re talking about,’” says Smith. “It’s more like ‘How do you want this scene to go?’ And they just take your ideas, add their own and run with it.”

A theater production is not just about the performance. It is about the cooperation and friendships of many amazing people who have a passion for the arts. Working on set, either as a stage hand or a performer, is an invaluable experience that one will remember for the rest of their life.

“We are all here for each other,” says Artie. “Cheering each other on, letting each other try new ideas onstage and helping each other with their own ideas about how they want to portray their character.”