Students learn variety of skills in Theatre’s scene shop Crew members help theatre department build sets for upcoming productions

Wyatt Smith

Features Editor

On the stage of Freedlander Theatre and in the adjoining workshop, a dozen students are hard at work constructing a theatrical set.

Ruby Summers ’14 and Trent Ziemer ’16 construct a short triangular platform. Maria Janasz ’14 and Sara Varra ’16 saw two-by-fours into stubby legs, which will be drilled into risers by Alex Schaeffer ’13 and Dani Gagnon ’16. Summit Starr ’16 and Micky Osthimer ’16 use wood glue to attach layers of flooring together. Sidney Martin ’15 and Chelsea Gillespie ’14 carefully apply neon tape to the stage, marking where pieces of the set will eventually go. Larissa Branovacki ’15 modifies a children’s trampoline for use in a dance performance.

A playlist compiled by Summers, ranging from Michael Jackson to Flight of the Conchords, is just audible over the racket of whining drills and buzzing chop saws.

This is Wooster’s scene shop, where everything needed for the Department of Theatre and Dance’s productions is constructed. At the center of it all is Technical Director Jody Tidwell, who assigns projects to the students and oversees their completion, all while teaching them tricks of the theatre tech trade.

It’s immediately noticeable how little professional supervision the students actually require. Once Tidwell assigns them a task, her crew members work independently. The students are often in pairs, with more experienced individuals mentoring newcomers.

“I feel like there’s no such thing as an average day for any of us,” said Summers. “Right now I’m working on platforms, but last year for a show, I built a guillotine with another guy. It really varies.”

The creation of a set starts with a set designer, a role currently filled by Theatre Professor David Tidwell (Jody’s husband), who maps out the needed props on a blueprint of the theatre. It is then Jody’s job to make David’s ideas come to life with the help of her undergraduate staff.

Over the course of production, Tidwell’s workers learn how to use a wide variety of equipment, from specialized saws to welders to a mechanized lift called a Genie.

The scene shop’s wide range of equipment is needed to pull off the Department of Theatre and Dance’s elaborate performances. One side room is filled with every tool imaginable, while another is stacked with lights, all meticulously organized. The students navigate the shop with ease, retrieving gadgets from large metal tool boxes nicknamed “Bonnie” and “Clyde.”

Even though the work is labor-intensive, both Tidwell and her assistants enjoy the experience.

“The camaraderie that comes from working together to accomplish something is great,” said Paul Swanson ’12, a scene shop veteran who is incorporating props he’s making for the upcoming production of the play “Equus” with his Senior I.S.

“I think [the shop is] a really good way to meet people,” added Summers. “I probably wouldn’t have gotten to know these people if I hadn’t worked here.”

The group is comprised of a wide variety of students. Some are theatre majors, others first got involved with theatre in high school, while still others are new to theatre tech. While most crew members are paid an hourly wage, interested students can work for 40 hours in the shop in fulfillment of a quarter-credit practicum.

“The scene shop students are a great group,” said Tidwell. “They get to know each other and become a real family while they are here.”