This show, as most put on by the music department, is crew intensive, requiring a great level of commitment and skill from both running and booth crew.
The format of Spring Sing essentially has one act go right after the other, each using a different number of microphones, a different arrangement of microphones, and a different lighting plot. The running crew's job becomes all about making sure that the right mic gets put on stage at the right time in the right place. Each performer signed up for a five minute tech time where they worked with Stage Crew to determine what they needed for microphones and lights, as well as the pit band they were provided with.
In order to ensure that the Sound Technicians up in the booth turned on the right mics for each act, the running crew had to keep track of which mics were going on for each performer. This daunting task fell on the shoulders of Tori Carrabino, our soon to be Stage Manager. Tori did a wonderful job ensuring that both running and booth crew knew what was going happening onstage, making for a smooth and professional performance. Tori was delegated the job by Kevin Parker, our outgoing Stage Manager, who organized our people on the ground and determined who would be moving microphones to their locations. The members of our running crew included Daryn Starkey and Nick Abruzzese. All four of our people on the ground also helped clear the stage of set pieces from our upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors, as well as making sure that each of our Audio-Technica wireless microphones had fresh batteries.
Once the mics were on the stage, the responsibility fell to the sound technicians on booth crew. Leading up until tech times for Spring Sing, Chris LaRocque, our current sound technician, set up the monitors for both the band and singers, as well as making sure that the band's instruments were mic'd and sent through the sound system. Jess Olin, a sophomore, and Devin LaRocque, a soon to be freshman ran the soundboard for Spring Sing. Jessica served as an assistant sound technician during the high school's fall production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. This was Devin's first time running sound at the high school, but we hope to see him next year in the booth. Thanks to the great communication between the booth and stage sound was run effectively and each act was heard clearly. Great job to two relatively new sound techs!
However sound is not the only important aspect of a great show. Our light technician, Jon DiRusso, showed how professional he truly is. Jonathan created lighting designs with only one soundcheck to prepare, not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. Not only did Jon design and run the lights but he also brought a new lighting effect to the BHS stage: Moving Visualizations. Jon got visualization software on his computer and ran it through our projector in the booth, creating swirling colorful images behind the performers that moved in time to the music and brought the performances to a brand new level.
Overall, Spring Sing was a roaring success. Both crew and performer alike felt wonderful about the show's professional execution and we're all excited to bring the show even further next year!