“I’m Alyssa and I do lighting in tech. I joined in middle school in seventh grade, but now that I’m in high school I’m able to do so much more than I did before. Also I get to hang out with a lot of cool people.
“In middle school we don’t get to do as much just because we’re younger and a lot of this equipment is meant for people who have more training. Now, in high school it’s a lot different because you get to be way more involved, so that’s nice.
“So the different departments of tech are lighting, sound, props, there’s costumes and then set design. That’s where you build and paint but you don’t have to do both.
“There was a great and welcoming community when I joined tech as a freshman. I was greeted
with open arms and I’m friends with all the people in tech now because they are so friendly.
“My favorite part about being in lighting…I really like operating the spotlights. The first time I did that was for Seussical when I helped out Lilyen who’s my department head now. I just did it for Spongebob too. I’d have to say my favorite part though is being trained on the lighting board in the booth. That might happen more this year.
“For incoming freshmen, joining tech is a great idea. I think everyone should join tech because it’s so great and especially lighting because it’s so cool. Lighting’s great because it’s not too difficult but you can still be creative and do all those different colors and shapes; you get to light people up.
“Oh my gosh…My favorite tech memories are two, yeah. So we get to build things a lot, and for Spongebob we needed to make these rocks. To do that we had these massive cardboard boxes and had to beat them up to make them soft. So, Mr. Richard–he helped us–gave us some wooden panels and sticks and basically we attacked the boxes and then played baseball with them. That was so fun. That was so great…and productive too!
“Also being a techie it’s not just art and programming and stuff, we also learn lines and perform sometimes for the actors for fun. It’s a tradition. That’s one of my other favorite memories. I was plankton with Lilyen for Tech Does Spongebob.
“Being in tech is also nice because you get to spend a lot of time with your friends and yap with them and the actors. It’s kind of like a big hang out but with a show at the end. Also though, I’ve definitely learned problem solving and critical thinking. Creative thinking too. We had to come up with the cardboard rocks for example, so they could be safe for the actors.
“I’m in field hockey half of the year so it’s a lot harder for me to do the play, but I still come when I can. Then I do musicals full time. It’s a lot of time after school, but even if you only help sometimes it’s still worth it.”
