Without their help, the fall musical couldn’t go on. The tech crew, led by William Palmer, is in charge of lighting, sound, and sets for every stage production at Battle. Though their work often goes unnoticed, it is integral to the success of the play, and this year’s production of Tarzan was no exception. 

“Tech crew serves a lot of purposes,” Palmer said. “First they serve as set builders, decorating the stage and getting things ready, then they transition into being the backstage crew.”

According to Palmer, this year’s set was fairly static, meaning there weren’t many moving set pieces for the crew to move. That meant that the stage crew was able to focus their time on the finer details like music, lighting, and making things run as smoothly as possible for the actors. 

“My job is just to teach (the students) how to do everything. After that, it’s up to them,” Palmer said on the involvement of the students. “They really run everything. We try to make it as student-led as possible.”

Students in  tech crew have to pick up on the lingo and pace of theater quickly in order to keep up. Dealing with the unforeseen mishaps on and off stage is just as important as knowing the original plan. “The more can go wrong during rehearsal, the better we know the performances will go,” Palmer jokes. 

“We all picked up on things pretty quickly,” microphone manager Shelby Sappington commented. “The more we know what we’re supposed to be doing, the smoother it runs for everyone else.”

The Tarzan set only had one major moving piece- a giant tent that could be lifted on and off the stage as the story progressed. It proved to be a challenge for the tech crew, filled with hilarity. 

“Oh, god, the tent,” microphone assistant Landon Kitner said. “The first few weeks, everything was going fine. Then as we started to move through the show, things kept getting crazier. But we always figured it out.”

While the tech crew got a ton of experience problem solving and thinking on the fly when working on Tarzan, the benefits run deeper. The group not only learned about the functions and customs of theater, but also life skills, like perseverance and teamwork. 

“I honestly feel like tech crew is almost like a family,” Kittner said. “Hanging out before shows, it felt like we were all good friends, even though we had never met before tech crew.”

Tech Crew is looking for new members for the spring play, “She Kills Monsters”. Contact William Palmer for more information.