Producing ‘Mamma Mia!’
See snapshots of what it was to work on Creek’s spring musical
April 27, 2022
As soon as students returned from winter break in early January, Creek theatre dove headfirst into their second production of the year, “Mamma Mia!.” Students divided up into different groups, each with their own jobs to complete before the show opened in early March.
From a construction standpoint, the fly and construction crews worked to build the set, which included one two story building, an arch stretching over the stage, a false floor, and a small bar. The set was designed to look like traditional Greek architecture, and was textured to have a rough appearance. The fly crew worked to build a bedroom that could be lowered onstage with an extending bed.
Throughout the show, the lighting crew worked to design a plot that included three special setups, five sconces that would be hung on the set, and the other lights in the theatre. Four spotlights followed the actors throughout the show, their handlers all seated in the catwalks above.
The sound crew worked to collect sound effects such as ocean waves and cawing seagulls to play during the show. Each lead actor in the show needed to have a microphone hooked up to the sound system, and even some singers backstage needed a mic to have their voices projected to the audience.
The stage management team sat in on every rehearsal and took copious amounts of notes and wrote down blocking in order to be able to communicate with tech about how the show was going to work. In addition to studying blocking, the stage manager also worked with the associate directors to understand where actors would be and what needed to be altered.
Every part of the theater worked together to create one product; an elegant piece of art that could be understood by the audience and used by the actors.
This is what Creek’s production of “Mamma Mia!” looked like from a backstage perspective.