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The curtain rises on a production of \u201cMamma Mia\u201d to a packed house at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts. Three hours later, the three-song finale of \u201cMamma Mia!,\u201d \u201cDancing Queen\u201d and \u201cWaterloo\u201d has even the most staid patrons standing and singing along to the music of ABBA, silly grins plastered on their faces.
\nIt was a production befitting the 20th anniversary of the Brooks Center. The acting was superb, the music almost magical. And the technical support for the production came off without a hitch. So much so, that it was an invisible part of the production. Just like it\u2019s meant to be.
\nBut that\u2019s where you find, as Paul Harvey used to say, the \u201crest of the story.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nPutting it together<\/h3>\n
Clemson was the first stop on a series of one- and two-night shows for the cast and crew, led by executive producer Stephen Gabriel of Work Light Productions. But they didn\u2019t just come to Clemson for the production itself. They spent the previous ten days \u201cteching\u201d the show \u2014 putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, as Gabriel says. It\u2019s the time to make sure the light, sound and scenic details get ironed out and to figure out how the set will break down and set up in the cities they\u2019ll travel to during their 10-month national tour.
\nThis is Gabriel\u2019s seventh time to bring a production to Clemson. The relationship began eight years ago when he met Mickey Harder, director of the Brooks Center, in New York at a meeting of the Association of Arts Presenters. Harder was on the hunt for theatrical bookings; Gabriel was looking for a venue to tech a family musical.
\nGabriel offered a challenge: Could Harder provide eight of Clemson\u2019s very best students to work with them from 8 a.m. until midnight for 10 days, free use of the theatre and lodging at a local motel for the crew in exchange for two productions at the Brooks Center?
\nHarder\u2019s response? \u201cWe can do it.\u201d
\nShe laughs, thinking back. \u201cI had no more idea if we could do it or not. Have you had those moments in your life when you knew that this is not going to come again? I knew this was a golden opportunity for what we are trying to do at Clemson, so I decided \u2014 I\u2019m going to tell him \u2018yes.\u2019 And then I\u2019m going to go back and tell these kids they\u2019re going to have to work their buns off.\u201d
\nThat year, and six times since, Gabriel has \u201cteched\u201d his productions at the Brooks Center. And Clemson\u2019s performing arts students have been right in the midst of it. [pullquote align=’left’ font=’chunk’ color=’#86898C’]For 10 very intense days \u2014 from 8 a.m. until midnight \u2014 students work in the costuming shop, problem-solve with the sound crew, set up and adjust lights, work on the set and learn what it takes to re-work a Broadway show for smaller venues and constant travel. It\u2019s a chance to learn from professionals and find out what it takes to translate the knowledge they\u2019ve learned into skills of the trade.[\/pullquote]
\nWhat the students get out of these two weeks is more than just hands-on experience. Harder and David Hartmann, chair of the performing arts department, set up Q&A sessions with members of the company so that all the majors, not just those working with the show, can get answers to questions like, \u201cWhat\u2019s it like to travel with a show?\u201d and \u201cWhat does it do to relationships?\u201d or \u201cWhat do you look for in a technician?\u201d
\nIt gives students a chance, says Hartmann, to actually talk to the producer, designer and technicians, to help them make career decisions and answer the basic question: \u201cDo I really want to go on the road?\u201d
\nJoshua Carter, a senior from the Chicago area, spent the 10 days as a production assistant assigned to the resident director (Martha Banta) and the choreographer (Ryan Sander). \u201cIt was my job,\u201d he says, \u201cto make sure that they had everything they needed while here in Clemson.\u201d That involved everything from arranging meals to coffee runs to serving as a tour guide and problem-solver. What it also involved, he says, was \u201cdirect access to these two amazing individuals. I could observe their process and really see how they worked. They were incredibly nice and approachable and encouraged me to ask questions.\u201d
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