I remember my first ever theatre rehearsal like it was yesterday. It was actually a little over three years ago that I awkwardly stood around the PAC waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Today, I am one of those students who help direct new theatre techs during rehearsals, whether that is finding props, painting set pieces, sweeping and spiking the stage, or taping prop tables, etc. 

Yesterday, the cast and crew of The Matchmaker performed for the students and staff of Cambridge Isanti High School. It has been so exciting to see the play we have worked so hard on the past couple of months be acted out in front of an audience. I want to thank everyone who came to the PAC to see an act or all four. We all appreciate your support for the show.

Since rehearsal for this show has started, I’ve grown so close to all of the actors and techs I’ve worked with in the past and all of the new people I’ve got to meet. As a sophomore, I always believed there was a divide between actors and tech. We just went our separate ways after rehearsal and stayed out of one another’s way. We even had a separate “Tech Night”, where the crew would go bowling after the opening night of a show. It was created in response to actors excluding techs when they would go out to eat after a performance. But today, I notice techs and actors work alongside one another. There are cast members always asking if anyone needs help, and crewmembers helping with makeup and costumes. It makes theatre a welcoming place for those coming to rehearsals, knowing that there is support everywhere around them. For our last performance, the crew was even welcomed to the home of one of our leads after opening night. 

 Putting together a play or musical with high school students takes a lot of communication, trust, and dedication. Everyone relies on another to be able to follow their lines, for the light change to start a scene, for the sound technicians to turn on and off someones mic, for run crew to set a chair exactly where it must be placed, for a prop to be where it belongs on a prop table, for a fly to be ran on time, and for a spotlight to light a character during a monologue. Everyone’s role is so important and so many things have to go right for a great performance. I’m so thankful for the cast and crew I’ve worked with over the years for all of the trust they have put in me, and for being reliable enough that I can trust them as well. 

Come see The Matchmaker Friday, April 1st at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 3rd at 2:00 p.m. All tickets are General Admission and are only sold in the PAC lobby ticket booth anfor $5 for students, $8 for adults and seniors.