Inside the Techscapades of JCHS’ Own Noah Goldstein
5:15am – Wake up. Turn on iPad and read through emails about various crises having to do with the day’s events. Start reading the news.
6:30am – Eat breakfast. Respond to emails using one hand while eating a bowl of cereal with the other. Continue reading the news.
7:05am – Leave for school. If taking yellow school bus do homework (and maybe watch The Simpsons) during the ride.
8:05am – Arrive at school. Print out homework.
10:00am – B-Block study hall, otherwise known as get-ready-for-Hakhel-time. Run around the building trying to get everything together in time for Hakhel.
11:23am – Start preshow music. Follow with videos, powerpoints, etc.
12:00pm – While everyone is getting lunch, clean up from Hakhel.
12:10pm – Get lunch. Arrive late to meeting. Try to eat and talk at the same time…
12:44pm – Arrive at class just before the teacher.3:20pm – Scarf down snack while readying the theater for rehearsal.
3:30pm – Play rehearsal begins.
8:00pm – Leave school.
9:00pm – Arrive home. Eat quick dinner. Do homework until tired.
9:45pm – Get in bed. Remember all the things I forgot to do today.
Stage Managing
“Dealing with dangerous tools, organizing papers and instructing students—these are just a few of the things I get to do as Stage Manager. People frequently ask me what constitutes my job as SM. To be honest, I, myself, am not really sure… I guess you could say I help make sure the theater operates. One of the big parts of my job is organization. On an average day I might run around the building 4 different times looking for various people/things needed for the day’s assembly/rehearsal. People who have been on crew know how fond I am of Google Forms (the Google version of Survey Monkey). In addition to power saws, one of my favorite pieces of theater equipment is the iPad, which allows us to control both the lighting and sound systems wirelessly!My ability to focus under pressure is crucial as Stage Manager. Everything you can imagine (plus more) has gone wrong during shows I have worked on. I can’t forget The Sound of Music. Throughout rehearsals, the body microphones operated flawlessly. Then, during the first song on opening night, several microphones started giving off feedback at the same time. When I am about to resume any show after intermission, there is always the inevitable missing actor problem. Until I have accounted for every single cast and crew member, I have to hold the show.There is a saying that if the tech crew does their job correctly, the audience won’t notice them. This is one of my guiding principles as Stage Manager. Even if it is something as simple as putting a chair in a given place, I make sure the crew practices it over and over so that on the night of the show everything goes as planned. In the end, I really end up doing a little bit of everything. However, that’s what makes my job fun. Join crew and see for yourself!” – N.G.
