The audience erupts in applause as the cast of AGHS Theatre Company’s Into the Woods takes a bow at the end of opening night. Audience members enjoyed the finished product of Into the Woods—a rehearsed, blocked, and directed production. But, they don’t see what happens backstage and the amount of time and effort required for a successful show.
“The time commitment of the show varies from day to day,” cast member Olivia McDonald (‘25) said. “We have our [theater] classes from 3:35 to 5:30 every day. And then, because [Into the Woods] is a musical, we also have rehearsal from six to eight on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
The hours are long, but the cast and crew find ways to balance their homework, personal lives, and production responsibilities.
“It is a hard balance, but it’s definitely worth it,” cast member Joy Avant (‘25) said.
The show demands different levels of commitment from different members of the cast and tech crew. The tech crew’s primary responsibilities happen during the show’s tech week and their fourth-period Tech class. For cast members, those with more prominent roles tend to have longer time commitments.
“[The time commitment] does get a little more because, as I’ve gotten bigger and bigger roles, I’ve had more lines to learn,” cast member Sawyer Sipes (‘27) said. “So, it took time at home to work on my lines.”
The cast of Into the Woods has a lot to practice, organize, and block during rehearsals.
“There’s a lot of practice that you have to do by yourself, which is your responsibility,” Avant said.
Rehearsals tend to center around the show’s music and blocking. This means cast members are responsible for several aspects on their own time.
“I do my lines on my own,” McDonald said. “I personally make myself a Quizlet. I do my lines like flash cards.”
Even though putting on a production is a lot of work, the actors love the process and the end result.
“I find [theater] very fun,” McDonald said. “For me, it just makes me really happy. Driving towards the end goal makes me so happy; performing, hearing the people cheer, and getting to see all my friends and family that are coming to see it makes me so happy. A lot of people that I’m closest to are all in this group, and it is so fun to get to work on [the production] together.”
Each cast member has a different reason as to why they love theater. Some have a history on stage, while others discovered their love of performing during high school. Sipes, who plays the Baker in Into the Woods, joined AGHS Theatre Company last year.
“I love to make people laugh,” Sipes said. “I love to make people smile. I’ve worked my way up, and it makes me feel good.”
As with any cast, the AGHS Theatre Company spends a lot of time together.
“I have so [many] good friends in this company,” Avant said. “It’s just so cool, being on stage and then looking over and it’s one of your best friends. [It’s] such a great feeling to [perform] with people you love.”
Everyone in the cast works hard, but the actors inevitably experience rejection when they are not cast for a part they want.
“It’s a growth opportunity,” McDonald said. “I feel like people say this a lot, but there are no small parts. Even if you get cast as a character with no lines or one line, that one line is your time to shine.”
It takes more than the actors to put on a show. The director, costume designer, stage manager, and sound technicians also play important roles.
“As a stage manager, my responsibilities include making sure all the actors know what they’re doing, they have their props, [and] they’re on stage at the right time,” Into the Woods stage manager Aurian Oliphant (‘26) said. “If something goes wrong, I need to know what went wrong [and] how to fix it.”
The sets are a massive element of a theater production. AGHS’s Into the Woods has hand-painted backdrops and many props.
“All of the sets are built by the fourth-period tech class,” Oliphant said. “When we first get the show—once we start working on it—we first design the set. We usually watch a film version of the show or musical we’re doing. Then we design the set, and we start building based [on] what materials and stuff we have.”
Oliphant makes sure the sets are safe for the actors. She doesn’t want her friends to get injured on stage.
“My biggest concern is whether or not someone’s going to get hurt,” Oliphant said. “If a simple platform wasn’t fully stabilized, and it tips over and somebody breaks their leg.”
In addition to the stage manager, the costume designer is vital to crafting the production.
“I am in charge of designing [the costumes for] the show, so figuring out what everything should look like,” costume designer Zoe Smith (‘25) said.
The AGHS Theatre Company has access to more than just their own personal wardrobes.
“[I put] together pieces from our costume storage, the Great American Melodrama’s costume storage, and the SLO Repertory Theatre costume storage,” Smith said. “We look for things that fit the vision of the show, fit the color palette or the time period of the show, and then we’ll rent them from the other places and then just grab them from our costume storage and basically put them together like a puzzle.”
Figuring out the show’s costumes can be complicated. Clothing size, color, and fit are only some of the factors Smith considers when choosing costumes.
“It’s easy to find things that are a person’s size, but everybody is different and every clothing piece is different,” Smith said. “Finding things that actually make a person look good and make them feel good is surprisingly more difficult than it should be.”
Smith prepares the costumes before the performances, but she still helps backstage during the show. If someone’s costume has a problem, she sometimes has to fix it in between scenes.
“Something I worry about a lot is clasps and zippers breaking,” Smith said. “Before we start a show, during tech week, I’ll go through and check all the costumes.”
Preparing for a high school theater production is stressful, but the cast and crew love what they do.
“Putting on the show makes it all worth it,” Avant said. “Being on stage and [performing] it for an audience and seeing their reactions [is] such a magical feeling.”
