Look Back: Rock Musical Aida Just Closed at LVC Where: Lebanon Valley College's Leedy Theatre
When: February
Who: Wig and Buckle, LVC's theatre company
Behind the Scenes of Aida
by Lebanon Valley College
Fans of the theater have been enjoying a different style of acting in Lebanon Valley College's (LVC’s) Leedy Theater this February. Wig and Buckle, the theater company on campus, will present their spring musical Aida. Originally a Disney Theatrical Production, Aida was born from Elton John and Tim Rice, and ran on Broadway from 2000-2004. Aida, known as a rock musical, is a vastly different style from what Wig and Buckle has done in the past. Just last season, the company was performing the Pirates of Penzance and Oklahoma the year prior.
“In the past we’ve done very classic style theater, and now we’re preparing a rock opera. It’s totally unlike anything Wig and Buckle has done before,” says director Sean Deffley. “Aida is Elton John, which is modern and consists of pop music, but it is refreshing to get something new.”
Typically members of the theater will turn to other performances done on Broadway or in other college theaters for ideas and understanding. However, Aida has been done by very few colleges. Because of this, Sean chose to make the production more historically accurate, focusing on the classical aspect and working to create what Egypt looked like at the time.
To make the musical a reality, it took a large crew of around 60 individuals. In addition to Deffley, his stage manager and acting crew, there were numerous behind the scenes personnel. The technical crew consisted of individuals working on sets, props, lighting, sound and costumes. All of these areas worked together throughout the process to make Aida a cohesive musical.
This year Wig and Buckle took a different approach to the costumes.
Typically the theater company rents costumes from a larger college or a company that deals with theatrical clothing, but this year the decision was made to create all of the costumes in house. With 26 individuals in the show and each one having approximately three different outfits, it was quite the process.
“Children of the Night” has become the name for the technical crew, as often long hours were needed to make the production a success. Individuals working on set design, props, etc., came in during the day to continue their work, but often were forced to wait until rehearsal was over at 10 p.m. each evening to get their various tasks done.
Junior Casey Edwards has led the tech crew since last year and admits that she never used a power tool before she began to help in the theater. As the leader, Casey begins the process of creating the sets and props by developing a blue print of each scene, giving a bird’s eye view of everything planned. She then meets with the director to gather input and continues to evolve her designs, striving to make it different from other productions. Then comes the building, painting, lighting and sound work for the weeks leading up to opening night.
“It can be stressful, but opening night makes it all worth it because you see all you were able to accomplish in a short period of time,” says Casey.
Time is a valuable commodity for the musical each year as the crew has 1-2 weeks less production time than the other plays throughout the year because of winter break. To help with this, Wig and Buckle members give up a week of their winter break and commit to coming back the week before classes begin to get a jump start on production. During that week, members work 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Despite having less time, the company is able to double their work that extra week with over 85 hours of effort put in.
“The musical is a titanic amount of work,” said Wig and Buckle advisor Dr. Pry. “Everyone is so willing to give their time considering the timeframe is so strict. The theater doesn’t have large areas to work and create pieces, so there’s a lot of tech work going on while rehearsal is taking place. The students work around classes and other schedules to make this all happen. It’s a scheduling challenge, but it teaches the students that time is the most precious commodity in the theater.”
Everything for the production is done by the students, from learning scenes to teaching choreography to constructing scenes, and so on. Numerous colleges require students to take part in the musical for credit, but that’s not the case at LVC. The students involved come from a variety of different majors. The company also does not recruit students or simply use all theater majors. They are all what Dr. Pry calls “walk ons.” With a long tradition of theater excellence, Dr. Pry says that it speaks to the talent of LVC’s student body. “It’s all on their own,” said Dr. Pry. “I may teach, guide, or model them, but they have to enforce the standards of excellence on one another.”
Annville Inn Bed & Breakfast is a strong supporter of Lebanon Valley College. We urge everyone in the community, and our guests, to enjoy activities at LVC.
