Behind the Curtains of Extravaganza

By Olivia Sheftall, edited by Bella Zaccaro

Extravaganza is the biggest show DA puts on, held at the Moran Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, and every student is familiar with it. Extravaganza showcases every arts area, even the less performance-based ones such as Visual Arts. The only arts area that doesn’t get its spotlight on stage is Technical Theatre; instead, they work tirelessly to set up the show and to keep it running throughout. Most people, even the stars of the performance, don’t realize how vital technicians are to making Extravaganza so incredible. 

“Extravaganza really is a celebration we present for the community and for DA,” says Joe Kemper, chair of DA’s Theater Department and co-director of Extravaganza. “Our theme this year is ‘alchemy’. Unlike in years past, we have a whole team behind this production, so my job in tech rehearsal is to ensure that things are working creatively for the flow of the show, and that we’re considering tech aspects like timing and transitions. Theater is one of the few artforms that uses sight and sound in an athletic way—everything must work together for it to succeed. This year we hired light and sound designers for Extravaganza, which is great for the tech kids because they get to work directly with industry professionals.” 

Basic technical theater concepts are the foundation for all the work technicians do for Extravaganza. There are many elements to tech, that require different skills—such as sound, lighting, scenery, costumes, and props. According to historic New York theater Forestburgh Playhouse: “Sound engineering, or audio, encompasses everything that goes into sound quality. This includes natural acoustics, microphones, background music, performance tracks, instruments, vocals, and any other elements of sound that are needed in a production.” In Extravaganza, sound technicians have to mark where stand up mics are needed, know when exactly background music should be played, know whose mic to turn on at what points. “Lighting includes all stage illumination from spotlights to overhead lighting…lighting can also help set the mood of each scene and create special effects.” Lighting is a job that requires a strong artistic vision and a lot of creativity; in the upcoming Creative Writing segment of Extravaganza, different spoken word pieces will have different color lighting to enhance the mood of the poem.  

For scenery, costumes, and props, FP notes, “Most visual productions require scenery to establish the setting of the story being told…Scenery can include two-dimensional elements such as a backdrop and three-dimensional elements that performers can sit, stand, lay, or even dance on. Costumes help performers look more in-character. They help transform a person into the character they are supposed to be portraying…costumes make the characters come alive. Another important aspect of technical theatre is props, short for property. These are the items that the characters manipulate to help tell the story.” The beautiful costumes, sets, and props you see on stage aren’t often simply purchased elsewhere. Hard working technicians spend hours trying to create accurate costumes for the actors to wear, and constructing sets and prop pieces which can both contribute to a scene and be easily moved on or off the stage.  

Technical Theatre students

prepare to mark a performance

on stage. | Photo by Abbey Griffin

Technicians of all jobs work hard to put all these elements together when putting on a show. Jennifer Kilgore, a teacher in technical theatre and the lead tech during Extravaganza, provides insight into what it’s like to put on such a big show. She’s been working in the tech business for over twenty years and has worked at DA for nine years. “Extravaganza is a really complex production so a lot of it is liaising with the different arts areas in addition to being in communication with the Moran Theatre downtown and knowing what equipment and timeline is available there. So, it’s a lot of communication.” 

Jennifer Kilgore, lead tech

for Extravaganza, adjusts for a

light cue. | Photo by Abbey Griffin

Getting Extravaganza on the stage is more complicated than it may seem. They must coordinate many different cast and crew members’ schedules. Kilgore describes “the concept of equity vs. equality. Some arts areas feel like because time isn’t equal, it isn’t equitable.” Different arts areas require a different amount of work to prepare them for the stage. You wouldn’t spend an hour explaining to someone where they’re supposed to go when playing their piano, and you wouldn’t spend ten minutes setting up a large theatre scene. 

Stage manager Abbey Griffin speaks on the process of setting up the show, and what it means to work in that role: “Stage management brings structure to the show, and helps it flow. It represents alchemy because alchemy is a ‘seemingly magical transformation,’ and when all the pieces finally come together along with all the technical elements, especially for the first time, it’s definitely magical. I help all the crew heads with whatever they need, and coordinate with each arts area to bring them together and make the show run smoothly backstage…I love stage management. Helping people fulfills me, and that’s what stage managers boil down to: an extra hand, a calm head, and a binder with too many tabs.” 

Abbey Griffin, stage manager

for Extravaganza calling cues

during rehearsals for the show.

Natalie Hyder, arts director at DA and co-director of Extravaganza, says that “[Extravaganza] takes all year to plan, and we start again immediately after it with a meeting where all the directors and creative team review notes for improvement next year. Up until the show we have monthly meetings where we figure out the logistics of it; I meet regularly with Kilgore, the tech director, and with our lighting designer; and the arts directors meet up with the light and sound engineers to get an idea of what their acts will look and sound like. It takes about three or four drafts of that to get the performance together…a lot of the artistry that goes unnoticed is with lighting—layering color, communicating mood—and there’s a whole art behind sound and mics, and arranging props and sets on the fly. Tech really is underappreciated, I’d say. Extravaganza is a collaboration for everybody—which is what produces the magic that is alchemy.”