As the Lyric Repertory Theatre Company prepares for the opening of their 60th season, the crew comes together to explain what goes on behind the curtain.
Between costuming, set design, prop creation, and more, theater performance requires a lot more work than may meet the eye.
The Lyric’s annual Page to Stage event aims to showcase the work of every individual — not just the ones we see on stage.
This year, the company will perform five different shows: “Forever Plaid,” “Come From Away,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Gutenberg! The Musical,” and “The Outsider.”
Richie Call is the artistic director of the Lyric and head of Utah State University’s theatre department. He directs “Forever Plaid” – a show he performed in 2003.
After being struck by a bus on their way to a gig, the Plaids, a barbershop quartet, come back from the dead to perform one last time.
While only four men take the stage, behind the scenes there are 13 more individuals who keep the show running from behind the curtain, covering lighting, costuming, props, and more.
Call also stars alongside fellow USU professor Stefan Espinosa in the season’s fourth show, “Gutenberg! The Musical.” It’s a two-man performance in which two brothers attempt to write a musical about the creation of the printing press.
“Gutenberg!” director Paul Mitri applauded the pair’s performance.
“Logan may not know that they have a fabulous comic duo in Call and Espinosa," Mitri said. "Richie and Stefan are not only fabulous actors, they're also fabulous collaborators.”
Unlike the company’s other upcoming performances, Mitri said this script doesn’t leave much to interpretation.
"It's not like Shakespeare, where you can go, ‘Hey, I want to do this right, I'm going to mold it into this,’" Mitri said. "It's their interactions that are more interesting and more important.”
While directing “Gutenberg!” Mitri has also been rehearsing for his various roles in the Lyric’s most-anticipated performance, “Come From Away.”
“Come From Away” is the Lyric’s second show of the season. Show director Britannia Howe described it as “a story of hope, resilience, and community.”
“Communities right now are choosing division, I think that this musical has a story of hope and connection," Howe said.
“Come From Away” follows the true story of the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland when 38 planes full of people were forced to land there on the day of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“Our table work was actually talking about the message of the show," Howe said, "And it naturally turned into people sharing experiences of where they were during 9/11 and I think that that's what brought us together as an ensemble. … It's not about 911 but it's about … the hope and the resilience of the people.”
Howe said the Lyric took care of her during her first season with the company.
“The whole company does a really great job at embracing people," Howe said. "I have been taken care of just like the people in Gander took care of all of those people, which I am really grateful for.”
Similar to the characters in the musical, the cast includes various out-of-town members and a director from Cedar City.
Working on “Come From Away” as the dialect coach is visiting actor and director Jay Stratton. He’s also a theater professor from El Paso, Texas.
He’s directing the company’s final show, “The Outsider.”
"The Outsider" follows a man who must take the place of the governor, no matter how ill-suited he may be for the role.
“The Outsider is an outrageous comedy, and I absolutely want to honor that," Stratton said. "But as I've worked on it, what I've discovered is that there's a pretty strong heart and message to it as well.”
However, it isn’t just the directors that hold the show together.
The Lyric’s production stage manager Kelsey Koga has worked with the company for eight years and acts as the center point of each department.
“The stage manager is one of the very few people in theater who liaise with actors, designers, directors, producers, the artistic director, general management, company management, technical direction," Koga said. "It's a lot of emails, a lot of organization, making sure that people are where they need to be. … It is my job as the stage manager to uphold the design and direction of the show.”
USU professor Stephanie White acts as the choreographer and intimacy director for the Lyric. She’s been working on each show for the season.
“If there's any physical contact or states of undress that happens within the company, then I'll step in to help and assist with that,” White said.
White explained that intimacy directing is a newer profession, but very important to the comfort and safety of everyone on the project.
“It really is just coming out after the #MeToo movement," White said. "Making certain that our people, our actors are safe within the space.”
White said the process of intimacy directing is very technical.
“If I'm coming in for a hug with someone, I want to still be able to show or cheat out to the audience, so maybe I'm going to use my upstage arm to go above the person's shoulder," White said. "So it is literally figuring out the movement and strategy to still be able to tell the story and still make it look like these two people are in love.”
Koga and White are working together on various shows this season, including “Forever Plaid,” “Come From Away,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Vanessa Ballam directs “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” She’s the head of the musical theater department at USU.
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” tells the story of five children from around the world who win a tour of an eccentric candy-maker’s factory.
“Everyone's lives have been touched by the story in some way," Ballam said. "It feels very personal. … Every time we're telling a story, it's got to have that import for all of us.”
The musical’s cast is made up mainly by USU students, but USU professor Espinosa leads the performance as Willy Wonka. Additionally, several younger actors play Oompa Loompas. This age range, Ballam said, is what uplifts the show.
“What an amazing learning opportunity for our current USU students to share the stage with one of their faculty members," Ballam said. "And then also for these young performers, the hope was that we could bring them into this environment, and the expectations are the same for them, regardless of their age. … The dynamic of ages and experience actually really enhanced the show, because everyone wanted to be able to rise to the highest level that was being offered..”
Ballam said the show is more complex than she had imagined.
“Our hope is that there's not one element that pulls … you out, we want to pull you into the story," Ballam said. "My hope is, and how I feel is, that everything comes together in a really fantastic way.”
She said it takes every aspect involved in the performance, including projections, choreography, costumes and lighting to create a magical moment.
The Lyric’s 60th season opens on June 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 p.m., immediately followed by the opening performance of “Forever Plaid.”
To get tickets, visit usu.edu/lyricrep/.
