From Oakton’s production of Murder on the Orient Express to their help in Oakton Choir’s All Together Now, Oakton’s tech theater has been behind the scenes pushing the show along. Now with Oakton’s production of The Addam’s Family, we can see how much they’ve done for Oakton. 

   To produce a show there not only needs to be performers but people controlling the lighting, making the props, changing sets, etc. As the audience watches an amazing performance from the actors, people behind the curtains are hustling around getting ready to help the show go on. Techies work hard to get ready for the show, and during tech week they stay after school until 6-7, sacrificing their free time in order to put on a show that they usually don’t even get to watch. 

  Recently the Addam’s Family won the bvd awards for the best musical and none of this could have been done without the techies. Tech is one of the most underrated contributors to theater, but also one of the most important parts of a successful musical or play.

   When talking about the environment backstage many believe that it’s absolute chaos however this is not completely true.

   “The working environment backstage is fun but also productive. We really emphasize communication between the departments to make sure everything is working properly.” Grace Lionato (12).

   To increase productivity and efficiency techies split into different groups, such as sound, lights, makeup, etc.

   Being able to work on and participate in the production of shows gives the student more of a connection to the show. Even if the show may have been challenging and had a few flukes, these shows mean a lot to the techies.

   “I can’t choose! Each show had its perks- Iris had awesome sound effects, Murder had really cool special effects, and the one-acts were just fun! The Addams musical though was a really cool show to work though because it’s a musical which is much more complicated sound-wise…and I love a challenge.” Grace Lionato (12).

   While tech helps a lot with the shows they do not get a lot of recognition. In playbills, only the head of the departments are mentioned, and while other options such as bowing on stage may take up a lot of time, techies still deserve more attention and praise.