Back in Black

Hey all you CSDCers! It’s time for this week’s blog post. Last week I told y’all that I was planning on a schedule of themes I would be writing about. So since last week was acting, this week will be teching: the mish-mashed, dressed in black, makers of magic that run the land of eternal night time, or a set of volunteers and professionals that run the behind-the-scenes action, while in the mostly darkness. Yes, we’re crazy.

Teching is more than running around in the back of a theatre. There is an art to it that helps bring a show to life. While actors portray characters in the story world, the techs portray the world in the story. In other words, they built, paint, and create that world in which the actors perform in. They help literally set the stage for the story being told and assist in telling the story though effects and lighting. No true theatre show can run without the technical side.

A common aspect of professional theatre is that techs and actors never mix company much. You normally have actors stay in their world and have the techs doing the same, causing these two to never mix. At CSDC we try to keep that from happening, and encourage everyone to try both sides for one reason or another.

The truth about technical theatre is while most crew heads (costume designers, set designers, technical directors, etc.) will receive recognition or will be mentioned in programs, other members of technical crews won’t be recognized very often. Sorry guys, you don’t technical theatre for the fame. But that does not mean you don’t do a spectacular job at being a tech. As a tech, you may not get the “name in lights’ moment, but you will get the quiet thank yous and hugs and those close friends that make any job worth doing.

As a tech, you also have the ability to show a practical side of God. If we believe that God was the creator of creation and created man in His likeness, then that means we have the ability to do finite versions of His infinite power. We can create highly intricate designs that mirror the wonder of creation. So when a tech crew builds a stage or paints a set, they are using God given talents that are a likeness of God’s abilities. How about that?

I’ll leave you with that this week and with a word of encouragement. Theatre is a group effort always, and like last week, each part is important. An actor can personify God’s attributes, and a tech can personify God’s abilities.