JE Musical Players stage crew wins Syracuse High School Theatre Award
The JE Musical Players stage crew won the outstanding stage crew award for “Young Frankenstein” during the 2018 Syracuse High School Theatre Awards on June 3. It marks the second time in four years the crew has won the award. In total, JE was nominated in 10 categories including outstanding overall production of a musical.
The 20-member stage crew includes students in grades 6-12. Technical director Drew Deapo said his goal is to have the upperclassmen serve as mentors to the younger crew members.
He attributed the win to the students working well together as a team. He said they understand the importance of executing scene changes efficiently and effectively as one unit.
“Often backstage, there is a very specific choreography of set pieces going on just like the actors have on stage. All of these elements take a tremendous amount of planning and coordination from all members of the crew,” he said.
“Communication is the key to their success because they are always communicating with each other to get the jobs done.”
Deapo said “Young Frankenstein” featured several technical elements that made it stand-out. He said several video projection elements added to the storytelling. The production included video projected rain, fireworks, and lightning, and a special opening title sequence. He also pointed to a scene that featured multiple moving components, dry ice fog and effective lighting.
Senior Nate Jennings – the most experienced member of the stage crew – said it was great to win again. Jennings started on the crew in sixth grade and has worked every production (seven musicals and 14 plays) since then.
“The entire group is great, and you can’t have a good tech crew without a good cast,” he said. “Working on the crew started my love of computers I plan to study computer science in college.”
Erin LaVancha, a sixth grade student and the newest member of the crew, says she learned a lot in her first year and loved the experience.
“I started to learn how to do lighting and how to build a set and take it apart,” she said. “You get to have fun and meet new friends and we just won an award, so it’s awesome.”
The other students in the stage crew include: (middle school) Sean Brown, Tim Edwards, Conall Fraser, Aydan Piper, Caleb Rouse and Holden Taylor; and (high school) Jake Bethel, Haley Brewer, Meagan Jackson, Kyle Kiteveles, Gabe Kunz, Geoffrey Lippa, Ethan McCabe, Emily Mocyk, Jordan Osborn, John Reagan, Madison Schell and Matthew Sheldon.
This year, the crew also included Kathryn Alonso-Bergevin, a 2011 JE graduate. She was on the crew during her time in high school and returned to help out backstage.
