Theater Crew at Clayton High School Frames Art with Light, Sound

The students who labor on Clayton High School’s theater productions spend weeks in preparation for a show. Actors spend six weeks rehearsing and technical personnel spend one week engaging in preparation for opening night, Clayton theater manager John Armstrong said.

Those who work in theater must master a variety of academic disciplines.

“We use a lot of trigonometry and geometry and a lot of rudimentary physics” Armstrong said. “Math and science are something we use a lot, but having a general knowledge of art is also important because color and composition are very important. Photography classes are very useful because it’s a great way to learn composition.” 

As the School District of Clayton’s theater manager, Armstrong manages all the theaters in the district. He also teaches design and stagecraft as well as a seminar in lighting and scene design. The students in design and stagecraft classes put their skill to work on the school’s productions.

“There are some kids who want to participate in our shows after school but need more technical knowledge to run the systems we have here,” Armstrong said. “There are kids here who spend a lot of time at theaters, and I’m able to teach them a lot about modern technology and stage.”

CHS sophomore Max Treutelaar works for the district as a theater technician. He took Armstrong’s stagecraft and design class last year as a freshman. 

“John Armstrong is a wonderful teacher,” Treutelaar said. “The class gave me an overview of what goes on in a theater. There’s a lot more to it than working backstage.”

The sophomore said he’s not sure if he’ll pursue theater as a career at this time. But he said it is an option, and he feels devoted to theater.

Theater is a medium that often requires a landscape of visuals and sound effects to support the story. Lighting, sets, sound effects and video serve this purpose. Armstrong said Clayton has one of the most advanced lighting systems in the area.

“A lot of it is learning how electricity works,” Armstrong said. “But some of it is learning the software and programing the lighting instruments and practical use of lighting on stage. Right now, I could have some kids who could go to work for the (St. Louis) Rep. or The Muny. That’s how complex our lighting system is.”

Treutelaar has worked on two CHS productions, Footloose and The Taming of the Shrew. He describes the lighting on the school’s productions as complex and said that the design requires a lot of changes throughout the productions. He also said he’ll do the lighting design for an upcoming production of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Rocky Horror is "very campy and very fun,” Treutelaar said. “We haven’t done anything this unique.”

Lighting is often designed to enhance the story.

“Lights can show energy, warmth or cold,” Armstrong said. “They are about focusing attention to what parts of the story you want to focus it on.”

Armstrong said the quality of sound and understanding its role in supporting the story are integral, even when the audience is not conscious of it. 

“When you’re in a show and the sound goes bad, it’s the first thing that people notice,” he said. “People recognize when sound is bad, but they don’t understand when sound is good. Sound is good when it’s so blended with the style and concept of show that you don’t even notice it. You don’t pick out the crickets in the background or underscoring because you’re so focused on the acting and story. A successful sound design is present but not obvious.”

Armstrong said his students have to know the various types of microphones on the market and how to use them. Treutelaar said he’s learned to use the various frequencies on a microphone and how to monitor a microphone to make sure it works before an actor takes the stage.

CHS once staged a play called Anonymous that required a lot of urban sounds: trains, crashing boats and a beach, said Armstrong.  

“It was a soundscape feel,” Armstrong said. “It was something you had to compose or mix together.”

Learning how to fade in sounds or match the energy of the sound with the level of drama is essential.

“Some sounds can be very intense and tough to do,” Armstrong said. “Instead of the mood creating the show, you create the show’s mood. Very few people know how to do it because it’s not done much. When they hear something like that, they mention it.”

Video can provide texture and background to a play, said Armstrong. CHS once produced a show called Snow Angel in which a video of snow covered the entire set. Armstrong said his theater technology crew uses stock video found online.

“It takes a long time to use video professionally and efficiently,” he said. “Some video doesn’t work with certain laptops."

Armstrong thinks video has a place in stage productions but at the same time is not a substitute for quality sets.

“Video simply helps the mood,” he said. “You shouldn’t project an image of a bookcase if you’re in a library. If an actor or a script can’t convey you’re in a library, the story isn’t being told right. We teach our kids that video is not to replace scenery.” 

The art of carpentry is also used in constructing set pieces. Armstrong said constructing sets requires working with materials, metals and rope.

“I try to do something more complex than just two-by-fours and wood,” he said.