I think one of the most disheartening experiences of my life happened this February.
As a member of the stage crew, I took part in building two giant colorful wings for the Variety Show. The project took a whole month to complete. An endless cycle of measure, cut, drill and repeat. Tireless days, including weekends, were spent meticulously building and painting until 9 p.m.
Now imagine my utter dismay when I asked a friend from the audience how the wings looked like only to get the response, “There were wings?”
I’ve been working behind the scenes in productions for five years. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard actors or singers get congratulated on how well they’ve performed, how beautiful their voices sounded or how effectively they delivered a line. Yet not once have I been complimented by an audience member on my work in the same production.
After the adrenaline rush from a show fades, an air of resignation often settles backstage as crew members sit coiling cables after a show closes, knowing very few comments on the technical aspects of the show are being tossed around in the lobby. We spend countless hours painting, set building and preparing lights and audio, but our work goes underappreciated because audiences often fail to notice what we do.
Performers are talented and hardworking, but the crew that makes those performers look and sound good are just as valuable as those on stage.
Without recognition of the work done behind the scenes, we fail to value the full creative process. Everyone on the production team, from the lead actor to the spotlight operator, works hard to make their visions a reality and deserves the same appreciation. Performing is an art form, but so is painting, set designing and lighting. The fact that these artists aren’t in plain sight, doesn’t make their art less meaningful.
Outside of stage crew, there’s a whole team of people who make entertainment possible. It’s important to appreciate the writer behind the wonderful scripts for the movies we like and the audio engineer who mixed our favorite albums.
The ongoing issue of underappreciation doesn’t just apply to the entertainment industry either. Unappreciated roles exist in every community. Many fail to value the importance of facility managers in the sports world or the paraprofessionals that keep schools safe. Behind the scenes exists even within Torch in the form of editors, including the 10 of them who took time out of their day to reword sentences you’ll never know were different. These editors helped to make this opinion the best it can be and just because they’re not credited at the top of this article, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve recognition for their work.
Take time to read all the names in the program of the upcoming Glenbrook Musical. Don’t overlook the students who designed the stunning lighting and meticulously painted the details of the set to provide the audience with their art. Acknowledge how good Cinderella sounds, to the credit of the actor’s talent, but also because a team of students spent hours to give the audience the best production possible.