It is a truth that ought to be universally acknowledged that without the efforts of those we do not see, stage magic would not exist at all.
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| Photo courtesy of Hennepin Theatre Trust. |
Much like the dishwasher is the most important employee in any professional kitchen (ask any chef, it’s true), the most important players in a theatrical production aren’t the actors or the directors or the musicians. They’re the people you never see – lighting designers, set designers, stagehands, and most important of all, stage managers.
The Star Tribune is currently running an excellent piece about Dave Marietta, the mastermind who engineers most of the spectacular productions we lucky Minnesotans attend regularly. A jack of all trades, Marietta is indispensable to the running of the theater, and the man we should thank for the Orpheum’s continued success as a bastion of the performance arts in the United States.
I highly recommend all readers check out the article – you can find it by clicking on this link – to learn more about how those fun special effects are made and who does their making.
I also want to thank all the countless unnamed technicians, managers, designers and more who work behind the scenes to provide the amazing productions we get to see. I could never name them all, but they know who they are. Fly on guys.