Building confidence behind the curtain

By Mallory Sepúlveda

Photo of students during rigging training taken by Mallory Sepúlveda

Walking around backstage at the Mary Glass Performing Arts Center, you’ll find ropes, pulleys and weights behind a bright yellow line that screams, “Do not cross!” All theater students know to respect this boundary, since starting from their first show they are told that their lives would be in serious danger if something went wrong. Trusting yourself to hoist hundreds of pounds of light fixtures, set pieces and curtains over students’ heads is a daunting task, but Owasso High School ensures its students and staff are confident and skilled at managing its rigging systems.

Every year, Associated Theatrical Contractors (ATC) comes to Owasso High School to teach students and staff how to navigate the dangerous systems of the stage. Leading the training are Matt Stevens, owner and president of ATC, and Huston Ward, Stevens’ companion for over two decades.

“It's a two day thing. On the first day, it’s just a giant seminar. You learn all your vocabulary and your math of everything backstage. All of the pulley systems, curtains, parts of the stage [and] everything like that,” describes senior Noah Reynolds. “The second day you return, and it's the application of all your knowledge you learned on the first day.”

Students and staff rotate through four jobs: supervisor, fly rail operator, load bridge operator and stage crew. 

The supervisor is in charge of all the action on stage; they direct the fly rail operator to pull the ropes of the counterweight system, the load bridge operator to add or take away weight from the system and the stage crew to do tasks on stage, like hanging light fixtures or folding curtains.

Reynolds has ample experience doing every job, as he has participated in rigging training for four years, starting as a freshman.

“I was terrified [the first year], but I did it. It’s really intimidating. It’s in the first weeks of school, so not only was I a freshman new to the high school, but I was being given so much responsibility and respect from those people that it was very alien to me. It was very nerve wracking.”

Photo of students hanging light fixtures taken by Naomi Lopez.

The most memorable part of rigging training is the constant yelling of the second day. As three groups rig at once, the supervisor must be at top volume so commands can be heard.

“They are very kind, but they’re very loud,” remarks senior Kelsey Perry. “They’re not trying to diminish you as a person, they’re trying to keep everyone safe.”

Much of the yelling comes from Stevens, who is stationed on the stage floor to assist the supervisors. Students who struggle to find the strength needed on the fly rail become familiar with his voice extremely quickly.

Stevens shouts, “Pull it! Pull it! Come on, thundercat, I know you're stronger than that!” 

Action comes to a standstill as the fly rail operator wrestles with the counterweight system. But thanks to Stevens’ encouragement, the operator perseveres and can descend the ladder feeling accomplished.

“They are trying to push you past your limits, but not in a negative way. It's them trying to get you to realize what you can do, not them trying to make you do something you can’t,” states Perry. 

Students and staff come out of rigging training feeling proud of themselves. In just two days, they’ve learned immense amounts of vocabulary, participated in every job on the stage and moved hundreds of pounds on the fly rail and loading bridge.

“It's just eye opening. It lets the people who go through it know they can do more than they thought they could, and that they are capable of greater things than they have been told that they can do,” beams Perry.

Photo of Matt Stevens directing students taken by Naomi Lopez.

Perry, also participating for four years, has had huge personal growth through rigging training and theater. 

“It opened my mind. [Theatre] makes my entire life meaningful. I was at a really low point in eighth grade. … Through theater I found the backbone [of my life]. Rigging training literally saved my life.”

Rigging training creates a space where people can find confidence and purpose within themselves. For Perry, it was where she finally felt affirmed that she could pursue technical theater as a career. 

“[I've] always [been told] that I'm never gonna make it, and I'm never gonna be good at theater. [People] see [getting a job in technical theater] and [making it as an actor] as equal probabilities, but that's just not true. I have been given multiple job opportunities, [and] I've already gotten college offers,” Perry explains.

Reynolds, too, feels like rigging training has been extremely beneficial as a student.

“Although I still really value acting and want to be an actor, I understand and realize that that's not always reliable. That's not a consistent job,” Reynolds concedes. “But having your hands in everything in theater means you can always be somewhere. [Having] this opportunity to do technical theater as a paid job gives me a lot of stability."

Rigging training not only equips students and staff to safely navigate the systems of the stage, it also gives opportunities abound. As one of only a few schools that ATC visits for student certification, Owasso High School is extremely lucky. Knowledge of rigging systems is so valuable that people from outside the Owasso school district came to the Owasso session. 

“Everybody who does the Associated Theatrical Contractors training is set up way beyond anybody in high school is expected to be,” explains Reynolds.

When it comes to rigging, Owasso High School is well prepared. As Stevens and Ward shared anecdotes of how easy it is to mishandle the stage's systems and put people in danger, it’s clear to see how fortunate Owasso is to have ATC returning every year to teach and lift students and staff to their highest potential.