By Ben Budke
Theater at Batavia High School has always been held with high esteem by the school and the students, especially those who dedicate themselves to the show. I’ve seen that there is a large selection of actors and actresses participating in the school’s theatre opportunities all throughout the year. With my experience, I know that acting is not the only way to be involved in the theater program at Batavia, but volunteering in tech crew is another option if someone isn’t interested in being in the spotlight.
Tech crew consists of students, who work on changing/creating the set, moving/creating props, lights, sound, and many more necessary jobs for a play or musical to go on. When I was 12, I got involved in tech crew at Rotolo Middle School. The experience of tech crew taught me skills that I could really grow and learn from as a person. Skills I learned were always based around my role in tech crew, being a stagehand. Stagehands were the ones moving and/or helping to create the set. In tech crew, stagehands often fulfilled jobs that other crew members weren’t able to do at the moment, whenever we’re not doing anything, there is always a job to do.
As a stagehand, skills I learned throughout my experience since sixth grade have been extensive. One of the first things that tech crew taught me is work ethic. Work ethic has helped with my experience of life, in general. This taught me how to efficiently work in an environment and with other people. Painting, cleaning props, and moving set pieces are all examples of tasks that have helped me work with others and work in an efficient manner.
Cooperation is another skill that tech crew has taught me. With cooperation, I can work well and to my best ability with other members of the tech crew and the cast. When working with others, tasks can become easier and quicker. The cooperation I have learned has also helped with working with others in the school environment. At school, I can work with others to create projects that are beyond the level that I alone could perform them, all because of cooperation.
A third skill that I have been taught through crew would be patience. I’ve been able to wait until further direction while doing a task. It’s helped me with life, as I have to wait for opportunities in the future to focus on the present. Patience has also helped me when working with others and having to be patient on certain individuals on a team or group in school.