Acme Theatre Company’s Backstage heroes set the stage

Photo courtesy of Acme Theatre Company

Article by Magdalena Knettle

In the sound and light booth overlooking a darkened stage and audience, senior Sage McCarthy waits for directions, while sophomore Vivienne Jacobs hurriedly sets up props and costumes. 

The audience is focused on what’s happening onstage at the Acme Theatre Company performance of “Witch,” but it’s the backstage crew who put on the show from the wings.

“We do everything from hanging drapery to lighting, costumes, and sounds,” said Kyle Lemoi, the UC Davis Mondavi production manager.

Here are some of the backstage jobs crucial to a drama production: 

Stage Management

Senior Coral Wittenburg, the Acme stage manager, is responsible for communicating with the directors, tech crew and actors. She also goes through various procedures to ensure the actors and backstage crew are ready.

Lights

“The fun part is listening to the stage manager because I get to hit the ‘Go’ button on the light board,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy is the lighting designer for Acme, which entails designing and operating the lighting color, transition and placement for each show to spotlight both the stage and actors. 

Sound

As the sound designer for Acme, senior Steven Haffly gathers sound effects and music sounds. He is in charge of all the technology for sound, such as actor mics. His favorite part of being the sound designer is the opportunity to socialize with his peers.

Props

Jacobs, who is Acme’s props manager, works with the directors for each show to find or make props that meet all their requirements, which comes with fixing or finding new props when actors break them.

“This one girl broke my cane during the last spring show. That wasn’t cool,” Jacobs said.

Costume Designer

As the Acme costume designer, sophomore Darla Tayson researches the clothing from the show’s time period, then gets measurements from actors to gather costumes in the right sizes.

Audiences can see the hard work of the backstage crew at the last shows of “Witch” next weekend, Jan. 16 through Jan. 18. More information about Acme and tickets can be found on the Acme Theatre Company website: acmetheatre.net.