Tech Talk: Introducing Students to Stagecraft Without Overwhelming Them
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In this edition, we shine a spotlight behind the curtain to explore how to introduce students to stagecraft without overwhelming them. From flashlight lighting labs to creative sound challenges, learn how to make tech approachable and inspiring so your next production runs smoothly and your crew feels like part of the story.
And don’t miss this week’s free read from Playscripts: Merely Players by Steve Borowka
So, raise the curtain and shine the spotlight as we dive into another thrilling week in the theatre world. Welcome to The Scene.
‘Cats’ Is Returning to Broadway, This Time With Heels Instead of Paws by Michael Paulson, The New York Times | The reimagined “Jellicle Ball” version of the musical is set in the ballroom scene — the queer subculture built around dance competitions. Read...
Caissie Levy, Ali Louis Bourzgui, and More to Star in The Lost Boys on Broadway by David Gordon, Theatre Mania | The new vampire musical will play the Palace in March 2026. Read...
The Queen of Versailles Begins on Broadway by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | Kristin Chenoweth is producing and starring in the new musical from Wicked songwriter Stephen Schwartz. Read...
Danny Strong Has Spent a Decade Rewriting the Book for Chess. Now It’s Finally Coming to Broadway by Margaret Hall, Playbill | The Emmy-winning writer wants Chess to be done as much as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Read...
‘Les Misérables’ at 40: The Unlikely Story of a Hit by Alex Marshall, The New York Times | Critics initially panned it, but public love for the musical with songs like “One Day More” and “On My Own” has kept it going strong for four decades — and counting. Read...
‘Mamma Mia’s’ leading lady landed first Broadway role while she was teaching 5th grade by Angela Barbuti, New York Post | This time three years ago, Christine Sherrill was teaching fifth graders American history in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Read...
How David Henry Hwang Remade Theater in His Own Image by Mark Harris, The New York Times | Long the leading Asian American playwright, he was writing autofictional works about identity politics decades before those were cultural obsessions. Read...
Bill Condon Knows You All Love Musicals (Even If You Won’t Admit It) by Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter | The powerhouse filmmaker behind ‘Dreamgirls’ and now ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ spills his secrets on bringing song to screen, directing divas and why camp is underrated. Read...
The Big Idea
Tech Talk: Introducing Students to Stagecraft Without Overwhelming Them
by Zach Dulli, The Scene
The first time a student steps into the tech booth, it’s like watching someone peer into the cockpit of a 747. There are sliders, faders, glowing buttons, and what feels like a mile of cables leading everywhere and nowhere. To them, it appears to be chaos masquerading as control. But what if you could show your students that behind every switch is a story? That every light cue, sound effect and costume stitch is another brushstroke on the canvas of theatre?
Because here’s the truth: stagecraft isn’t about machinery. It’s about storytelling. And when we teach students to see it that way, the intimidation fades, curiosity blooms and the work takes on meaning.
Start Small, Build Big
Tech can feel overwhelming because it seems so vast: lights, sound, costumes, props, sets and projections. But students don’t need to know everything to start. Begin with what they already understand: emotion and story.
Ask them simple but powerful questions. How does lighting make a moment feel safe or dangerous? What does a sound tell us before a single word is spoken? How does a costume’s texture whisper something about who the character really is? These aren’t technical questions. They’re artistic ones.
Then, make the learning tactile. Give them their phones and have them use the flashlights to explore how shadows and angles change emotion. Turn on music and ask what color the sound feels like. Bring in a few costume pieces and ask what kind of person might wear them. Before long, you’ve bridged the gap between art and engineering. You’ve made the technical feel human.
The Secret to Teaching Tech: Make It Human
What intimidates students most about stagecraft isn’t the complexity; it’s the disconnect. They see performers center stage, basking in the spotlight, while the tech crew works in the dark. Your job is to connect the two.
Explain that every headset and light cue represents a form of communication. Every board operator is a collaborator. A lighting designer isn’t just flipping switches; they’re deciding what the audience should feel. A sound designer isn’t just pressing play; they’re scoring emotion.
Pair up your students. Let an actor run a sound cue or help focus a light. Let a technician sit in the front row and observe the impact of their work on a scene. That simple exchange builds empathy and respect. The performer learns how fragile timing is. The tech student sees their work illuminate meaning. That’s theatre at its purest: collaboration across craft.
Integrate Tech Early
Many directors treat technical theatre as something that happens after rehearsals, an add-on once the acting is done. However, when you do that, you deprive students of the opportunity to learn. Bring tech in early. Even in the first week of rehearsal, start talking about what the design might look and feel like.
If you’re blocking a scene, mention how the lights could change to show time passing. If you’re working on character, ask what kind of environment that person might live in; what colors, textures or sounds might define their world. Invite your student tech team to sketch ideas or share reference photos.
By the time you reach tech week, your crew isn’t panicking to catch up; they’re already fluent in the language of the show. More importantly, they feel like artists, not operators. They’ve been part of the process from the beginning, not the cleanup crew at the end.
Keep It Playful
There’s no rule that says learning stagecraft has to feel like a lab safety lecture. Make it fun. Give your students creative challenges that allow them to experiment and fail safely.
Create a soundscape for a haunted forest using only the materials available in the classroom.
Build a costume out of newspaper that reveals a character’s personality.
Design a simple lighting look using flashlights and colored gels.
Use found objects to create a piece of set décor that fits the world of a scene.
The goal isn’t perfection – it’s discovery. You’re teaching them how design shapes story. Every wrong attempt is just a new rehearsal for the right one.
Directors: Trust the Process
It’s easy to want to control everything. Directors often think, “If I just do it myself, it’ll be faster.” Maybe. But faster isn’t always better. When you let your students troubleshoot, when you let them figure out how to fix a flickering light or rehang a backdrop, you’re teaching them how to think, not just how to follow directions.
Mistakes are part of the process. Microphones won’t work. A costume will rip. The fog machine will go rogue. And that’s okay. Because when your students problem-solve their way through it, they discover something more valuable than any clean cue-to-cue rehearsal: they learn confidence.
When it all comes together, the lights fade in just right, the sound cue hits perfectly, and the set change happens like choreography, they’ll know it wasn’t luck. It was craft.
Final Cue
Every great production is built by an orchestra of invisible hands. Students who understand that truth start to respect the artistry of support. They realize that the spotlight only shines because someone aimed it, and that theatre doesn’t happen to them, it happens because of them.
So, start small. Keep it human. Invite curiosity. Let your students push the buttons, twist the knobs and make mistakes, because the real magic of stagecraft isn’t in the technology – it’s in the teamwork. And when they learn that, they won’t just run the show – they’ll understand the heart of it.
National Theatre announces 2026 shows and casting plans by Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage | See what’s coming as Indhu Rubasingham’s first season continues. Read...
Mischa Barton to make UK stage debut in Double Indemnity tour by Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage |The OC star is coming to the stage. Read...
Fame is set to have a major revival in 2026 by Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage | The show marks the 30th anniversary of Fame’s European premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth in 1995. Read...
Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Aidan Turner, Lesley Manville, Monica Barbaro announces full National Theatre cast and creative team by Tanyel Gumushan, WhatsOnStage | Marianne Elliott is back at the South Bank venue. Read...
Her Grandfather Owned the Yankees. Now She’s Producing ‘Damn Yankees.’ by Michael Paulson, The New York Times | George Steinbrenner’s theater-loving granddaughter Haley Swindal is taking a big swing with a revival of the musical, slightly retooled for a new generation. Read...
Douglas Sills to Star as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Signature Theatre by Linda Buchwald, Theatre Mania | Joe Calarco directs the intimate production in Arlington, Virginia. Read...
Goodspeed Musicals’ 2026 Season Will Feature 50th Anniversary Annie Revival by Andrew Gans, Playbill | The upcoming season will also include the world premiere of The Snow Goose plus Jesus Christ Superstar and more. Read...
Broadway shows are picking Baltimore to launch national tours. Here’s why. by Wesley Case, The Baltimore Banner | After ‘Water for Elephants,’ the Hippodrome will welcome ‘Great Gatsby,’ ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ Read...
Free Reads of the Week
Read entire plays for free! Playscripts offers a selection of full-length and one-act plays that you can access for free, which is ideal for use in theatre productions, school performances, or competitions. To explore these titles, click on the cover image below or select the "READ FOR FREE" button at the bottom of this section. This action will direct you to the play's page on the Playscripts website. Once there, click "READ NOW" to begin enjoying the play immediately!
Merely Players by Steve Borowka
The Story: It’s the beginning of the new school year at Evergreen Academy. Emma, a content creator becoming more popular by the day, is challenged by head cheerleader Stacy to matchmake five couples at the school by the end of the month —or lose access to her social media accounts. When her class is assigned a sonnet-writing project, Emma thinks it’ll help her win the bet, until she realizes everyone has devoted their sonnet to the wrong person. With echoes of Cyrano de Bergerac, As You Like It, and Jane Austen’s Emma, Merely Players is a modern take on one of Shakespeare’s most timeless truths: the course of true love never did run smooth.
Genre: Comedy | Run-Time: 80-90 minutes | Casting: 17 W, 9 M, (18-26 actors possible: 15-17 W, 7-9 M) | Set: Flexible.
