What do you think of when you hear the word “theatre”? Probably actors and actresses doing a weird tap dance on a huge stage beside a beautiful set. But is that all? What about the lighting, the sounds, the music? Who does all of that?

Tech, of course.

Broomfield’s theatre department puts on stunning productions every year, and are growing in popularity as time goes by. Theatre kids are usually known as only that: people that are histrionic, outgoing, loud, and annoying to people who aren’t really into those kinds of personalities. Everyone knows those kinds of kids, yet no one knows the quieter ones, in this case are the techies.

Flynn Shaw (12) walks into the auditorium, swipes the keys from Bryner (director), and unlocks the booth and mezzanine. They turn on the light board and start setting up for another day of rehearsal. Hayley Anne Sayre (10) bolts in next to them, eager to find the perfect lighting for the current play: Much Ado About Nothing. Both of them notice a light isn’t in the right place, so they grab Kristina Petrov (10) and Elaiza Wilson-Roussel (10) and send them up to the catwalk. Kristina throws on some heat resistant gloves and grabs a hold of a light while Elaiza uses a wrench to loosen it. From there, Kristina calls Flynn and sees where the light needs to be placed so they can cover all of the dark spots. If a light isn’t working at all, they unscrew it, unhook it, and take it out of its place, all while 50 feet in the air. Kristina hops down from the catwalk and turns on the spotlight, aiming it carefully and testing to see how the bulb is.

“Lights are fun. Lights are frustrating,”  says Flynn. “Lights are a struggle, but if you do it right, they’re really pretty.” Lighting is truly an art on stage. Having the right colors and mood changes the play entirely, and helps support the story. Hayley Anne found sunset colors, like pink, orange, yellow, and red, to blend and place specifically so it would hit the actors just right. “For lights, I like designing it so that all of the colors match the mood of the scene, and so everyone gets to see the actors and how pretty everything is.” Hayley Anne says.

For Eurydice, Dylan Scott (12) designed the beautiful lighting that I already gushed about in the review from earlier last year. “The techies are the heart of the show, they really bring it all together,” says Dylan. “Actors are what we see, but techies are something we also see, but not as well as we should. They put in so many hours of work, much more than the actors do.”

Sound is a whole other rodeo. This includes sound effects, music, and worst of all, microphones. Hayley Anne ran the soundboard and mics for The Addams Family for the first time. “It was very stressful, but I do enjoy getting to put all of the sound together so that everyone sounds good and that it all balances well.” says Hayley Anne. Microphones are a total pain, but essential for musicals, and Hayley Anne handled all the technical difficulties extremely well.

Techies are what make the show the show. You can’t have a good production without the things that complete the story. Tech is so underappreciated in the theatre world, and it’s time to give them the admiration and love that they deserve.