Searcy, AR (LP) — The Theatre Department recently came to a close on the Treasure Island production. Many audience members found the show humorous, entertaining, and all around a comedic breakthrough in their busy lives. Behind the scenes of a great show entails great people creating the magic. Many could argue that every detail was orchestrated. Cast and Crew both putting in the work, to bring the show to life. Every job on and off stage has a key importance towards the production.
Light Designer, Emily Riddell who took upon herself to learn a brand new perspective in the technical side, which she has never done before. Putting a twist on what is routine she worked until she acquired the knowledge and skill of the lightboard. In the production it can be difficult to find different lighting to colorate to each scene than others. For example, a scene demonstrates anger. You might put a slight tone of red. Some scenes are less straightforward than others. You may wonder what someone might enjoy out of this position, Emily shares “I Love running lights because it brings the show together and especially for the Flint scenes when he is singing.” She can center her lights based on the emotions, lines, or even characters in a scene. Lights play a bigger role than what someone might initially think. Highlighting the success of crew members is important because without the people behind the scenes the show would not go on!
Parker Hays, Who portrays Captain Flint, is a freshman finding his way around acting and demonstrating his characters with great importance. He often thinks about his character thoroughly and adds his own spin to the persona. Captain Flint’s character is up to the audience’s imagination. Few think of him as a spirit, and or an alive pirate. With characterization an actor can make sense of their character to their own logic. Parker explains this to terms of “ When Billy Bones is given the Black Spot by Blind Pew, one could argue that in his last seconds of life, he only hallucinates the vision of Captain Flint, but then that begs the question: Why can Long John Silver and the parrot see me at the same time at the end?” Making the character unique. In acting you often take note of what your fellow cast members do well. For example Parker shares “My favorite scene from Treasure Island is the scene in which Jim Hawkins meets former pirate and cheese enthusiast Ben Gunn ; I like this scene because Gunn’s hyper fixation on cheese makes his story a little more ridiculous and funny.”
These actors and technicians work in and out to create a humorous, magical show. There is more that goes into a show than someone might realize. The cast and crew rehearse in and rehearsal out weekly. Plays have complex thinking and planning behind each show. Some conflicts may arise from this but everyone working on this project settles conflict with calm solutions.
