Forum Fortnightly Article
During my time working on the Forum I began to learn the art of journalism, which taught me many valuable skills that I've carried over into other areas. I spent several days with the faculty and students of Westminster's theater department to write an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the production of a play.
Skills:
Skills:
- Conducted interviews with multiple individuals
- Seamlessly wove quotes throughout piece to add credibility
- Worked under specific deadlines
- Wrote a profile of an organization that can be used in a variety of ways
Behind the Curtain: An in-depth look at play production from Westminster's theater department
By Danielle Follett Chard
The talent in Westminster’s theater program isn’t just found in the stage spotlight. The hard work and talent is found behind the curtain as well.
Michael and Nina Vought have spent the past 15 years building Westminster’s theater department into a widely recognized and respected program. “We’ve been plugging away at it for a long time,” laughed Michael Vought, the department chair who has directed 30 shows during his time at Westminster.
“This is our lives,” said Nina Vought, a Westminster professor and the department’s costume and set designer. “It’s not just our work.”
Over the past decade the Voughts have helped transform the school’s theater department into a widely recognized program for aspiring actors and theater technicians.
“Now if you go to many of the high schools around the state the theater teachers are saying ‘that’s the program to go to,’” said Michael Vought.
This January the cast and crew of Westminster’s next production “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was chosen by the Utah Theater Association (UTA) board to take the show to St. George to perform for the UTA conference.
“It’s a pretty big honor because technically Dixie is hosting this year,” said Ashley Carlson, the Arts Administrator for Music and Theater and a Westminster student. “Typically the school that is hosting is the school that performs.”
The UTA members aren’t the only ones taking notice of Westminster’s productions. Reviewers around Salt Lake applauded Westminster for serving up another hit with the recent production “The Spitfire Grill.”
Utah Theater Blogger Jannifer Hemingway said that “Spitfire”was the most musically solid cast she’d encountered during her time working as a reviewer.
As “Spitfire”finished its run, months of work have already gone into the school’s next shows that won’t hit the stage until spring.
“I’ve been running since August,” said Carlson, who starred in “Spitfire”and is directing “Putnam.” Carlson logged five months of work preparing “Putnam,” announced the cast on Nov. 16, and now has around six weeks to prepare for the UTA conference.
The preparation for each of Westminster’s four productions a year takes hundreds of hours of work by everyone involved, said Michael Vought.
“It’s a pretty intense time commitment,” said Ali Lente, a Westminster junior who has worked as a stage manager and an actor on several productions. Plays are chosen in the spring for the following year and can be the most difficult part of the process. “You have to take so many things into consideration,” said Michael Vought. He continued by explaining that finding a play that will connect with the audience and work with the available talent is a long process.
Once the piece is selected, pre-production work begins by the director. “It’s really the process of reading a play over and over and over and over until it starts to play like a movie in my head,” said Michael Vought, “and when I can start to see it, then I think I can direct it.”
Once the director develops the vision for the show, they meet with the production designers who create the costumes, lights, sounds, sets, and props. “The production team meets and the director tells us his vision for the show,” said Nina Vought. “Sometimes it’s fairly elaborate and sometimes it’s simple, but it’s always inspirational.”
The production team works together on ideas to create the world of the play. “Being the director, there’s a sense of collaboration,” said Carlson. “But I have a lot of trust in the creative team.”
Nina Vought says the collaboration between the director and the team is a great way to make the play come to life. “That is the joy because everyone has great ideas,” she said. “It’s a team effort, absolutely and totally.”
The next big step is casting. Students prepare monologues and songs for initial auditions. The director then has the stand-outs return for callbacks where they do cold readings from the script, learn dance routines, and sing songs from the show.
Once a cast list is posted, rehearsals begin. Carlson says that lead actors, the director, and the stage manager are at rehearsal approximately 18 hours a week for the eight weeks it takes to prepare a show.
“I feel like I’m crazy to keep doing it because I never have time to relax, but I can’t stop!” said Lente. “It’s like an addiction.”
The job of acting, however rewarding, is difficult. “When you act in a movie, you have ten chances to get it right,” said Lente. “When you’re in theater you have two months to make it perfect.”
The months of hard work and sleepless nights culminate in the show’s run. The actors must perform everything they’d rehearsed perfectly for the expectant audience. “When it’s right, it’s so right,” said Lente. “When you’re onstage and you get something right, it’s like magic. I love it. That’s why I do it.”
Carlson says opening night is her favorite part of the process. She explains that the first performance is like handing in a final paper after a lot of time and effort. “There’s something so satisfying about that, especially when it was a great performance,” Carlson said.
Lente agrees with Carlson’s statements and passion for the theater. “I think theater is one of the most powerful forms of art we have left, and it will never go away,” Lente explained. “It’s survived since the Greeks and it’s not going anywhere.”
The talent in Westminster’s theater program isn’t just found in the stage spotlight. The hard work and talent is found behind the curtain as well.
Michael and Nina Vought have spent the past 15 years building Westminster’s theater department into a widely recognized and respected program. “We’ve been plugging away at it for a long time,” laughed Michael Vought, the department chair who has directed 30 shows during his time at Westminster.
“This is our lives,” said Nina Vought, a Westminster professor and the department’s costume and set designer. “It’s not just our work.”
Over the past decade the Voughts have helped transform the school’s theater department into a widely recognized program for aspiring actors and theater technicians.
“Now if you go to many of the high schools around the state the theater teachers are saying ‘that’s the program to go to,’” said Michael Vought.
This January the cast and crew of Westminster’s next production “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was chosen by the Utah Theater Association (UTA) board to take the show to St. George to perform for the UTA conference.
“It’s a pretty big honor because technically Dixie is hosting this year,” said Ashley Carlson, the Arts Administrator for Music and Theater and a Westminster student. “Typically the school that is hosting is the school that performs.”
The UTA members aren’t the only ones taking notice of Westminster’s productions. Reviewers around Salt Lake applauded Westminster for serving up another hit with the recent production “The Spitfire Grill.”
Utah Theater Blogger Jannifer Hemingway said that “Spitfire”was the most musically solid cast she’d encountered during her time working as a reviewer.
As “Spitfire”finished its run, months of work have already gone into the school’s next shows that won’t hit the stage until spring.
“I’ve been running since August,” said Carlson, who starred in “Spitfire”and is directing “Putnam.” Carlson logged five months of work preparing “Putnam,” announced the cast on Nov. 16, and now has around six weeks to prepare for the UTA conference.
The preparation for each of Westminster’s four productions a year takes hundreds of hours of work by everyone involved, said Michael Vought.
“It’s a pretty intense time commitment,” said Ali Lente, a Westminster junior who has worked as a stage manager and an actor on several productions. Plays are chosen in the spring for the following year and can be the most difficult part of the process. “You have to take so many things into consideration,” said Michael Vought. He continued by explaining that finding a play that will connect with the audience and work with the available talent is a long process.
Once the piece is selected, pre-production work begins by the director. “It’s really the process of reading a play over and over and over and over until it starts to play like a movie in my head,” said Michael Vought, “and when I can start to see it, then I think I can direct it.”
Once the director develops the vision for the show, they meet with the production designers who create the costumes, lights, sounds, sets, and props. “The production team meets and the director tells us his vision for the show,” said Nina Vought. “Sometimes it’s fairly elaborate and sometimes it’s simple, but it’s always inspirational.”
The production team works together on ideas to create the world of the play. “Being the director, there’s a sense of collaboration,” said Carlson. “But I have a lot of trust in the creative team.”
Nina Vought says the collaboration between the director and the team is a great way to make the play come to life. “That is the joy because everyone has great ideas,” she said. “It’s a team effort, absolutely and totally.”
The next big step is casting. Students prepare monologues and songs for initial auditions. The director then has the stand-outs return for callbacks where they do cold readings from the script, learn dance routines, and sing songs from the show.
Once a cast list is posted, rehearsals begin. Carlson says that lead actors, the director, and the stage manager are at rehearsal approximately 18 hours a week for the eight weeks it takes to prepare a show.
“I feel like I’m crazy to keep doing it because I never have time to relax, but I can’t stop!” said Lente. “It’s like an addiction.”
The job of acting, however rewarding, is difficult. “When you act in a movie, you have ten chances to get it right,” said Lente. “When you’re in theater you have two months to make it perfect.”
The months of hard work and sleepless nights culminate in the show’s run. The actors must perform everything they’d rehearsed perfectly for the expectant audience. “When it’s right, it’s so right,” said Lente. “When you’re onstage and you get something right, it’s like magic. I love it. That’s why I do it.”
Carlson says opening night is her favorite part of the process. She explains that the first performance is like handing in a final paper after a lot of time and effort. “There’s something so satisfying about that, especially when it was a great performance,” Carlson said.
Lente agrees with Carlson’s statements and passion for the theater. “I think theater is one of the most powerful forms of art we have left, and it will never go away,” Lente explained. “It’s survived since the Greeks and it’s not going anywhere.”