What is Technical Theater? A Look Behind The Curtain

I was first introduced to technical theater seven years ago, when I was a freshman in high school looking for some sort of club to join in order to "round out" my education. The whole thing was really my parent's idea, because they, along with the guidance counselors, felt that there should be more to an education than just class. Although I wasn't sure if I believed this myself, I didn't mind going along with it, and I'm glad I did. Joining the Tech Crew at my high school opened up an entire world to me, a world full of technical mysteries that had previously been hidden behind a curtain.

Technical theater is exactly what it sounds like: the behind-the-scenes portion of a theater production involving the technical aspects of the show, from lights and sound to stage management and makeup. Theater technicians, or "techies", are those hardworking people who put in the long and often unnoticed hours making a production happen with their technical expertise. It doesn't matter if the show is a play, a musical performance, or a public address; either way, some level of technical coordination is required. In the rest of this article, I'll explore the fun experiences I had working as a techie at my high school and later at college, and hopefully provide some insights into this exciting world that is for many people a rewarding career.

Any theatrical production, be it a Broadway performance or a high school musical, requires some level of technical backing. The two most noticeable arenas in this world are lights and sound. Without either of these, actors would have to scream their lines and hold flashlights to illuminate each other (or at least act in open daylight). Modern technology has allowed us to further refine and add to a production, and the people at the forefront of this are the technicians.

Lighting