Behind every Naperville North hit show like Hamilton or Grease is usually a small group of people running the show along with the cast: Technical Crew, or as most people call them, “techies.”  Their main job is to manage technical aspects, such as sound, lighting, props and moving set pieces.

Leading up to the freshman/sophomore play A Delightful Quarantine’s opening night, Tech Crew had a “Build Call,” a time for techies to build their set. However, many of the drills and hammers the techies normally operate may appear daunting and even dangerous to new members.

Freshman Ryan McCauley explained that techies train these newbies carefully to keep things running smoothly and safely.

“You just try and teach them how to use [the tools] properly…and in case they’re doing something wrong, [we] stop them and teach them how to do it the correct way,” McCauley said.  

Freshman Rithika Mattey confirmed the importance of communication in tech crew, explaining how she always asks McCauley many questions regarding the use of tools. No tool is too hard to use when people help each other out a little bit.

That’s not to say things always run smoothly, according to junior Jax Wokas.  

“It’s really hard to get everyone on the same page… it’s total chaos here all the time,” Wokas said. “People communicate differently here all the time.”

Have you ever noticed the pieces of tape on a stage? The tech members use them as markers for where pieces of the set need to go. Sophomore Valera Flores explained during a particularly long scene the tape is there so, “[they] don’t play bumper cars, and [they] don’t hit any other [set pieces].” The techies may also use hand signals to run the show smoothly, since they can’t talk while moving the set. Communication goes beyond words in Tech Crew!

Junior Emma Hughes, a mentor for tools, believes kindness also goes a long way to keep members encouraged and inspired.

“There was a certain sound the drill made when it wasn’t going right,” she ironically yelled over the sound of a drill. “But whenever that would happen, you’d stop and go again. I think that’s the nice thing about Tech, it’s very forgiving.” 

Technical Crew may be the silent, dark figures seen between scenes, and perhaps not given much attention. But in reality, they are a critical part of Naperville North’s production success.