To help you appreciate the complete art of Lakeside’s popular Little Theater, I want to share with you what goes on behind the stage and into the hidden corners and corridors one never sees. It is often better than the show.
A dozen or more volunteers scramble about unseen getting stage settings and changes ready and assisting the actors with make-up, costumes and cookies.
Talented lighting and sound tech people make the stage wake up for every scene.
Wardrobe staff are creating different costumes (140 actually happened once) for each show. Unspoken costume problems persist beyond the premier: Costumes need to be cleaned over the show’s run, because under torrid stage lights and nervous body heat, costumes can become prisoners of microbial ecosystems and begin to decompose in mid-performance. After the run, the humane thing to do is to bury some costumes.
The backstage energy and focus is often so potent, that no one would notice, for example, an elephant stampede through the dressing rooms.
Also, while the show is on, some actors are still memorizing lines.
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