Technical theater at WT Woodson High School appeals to me because the students run it. We are the designers, the planners, the builders, and the creators of lights, sounds, set, costumes, and props. Our creativity is allowed free rein and our skill is increased by having a more in-depth experience than technical theater departments that are run by teachers and parents. Having started out on the technical team as a freshman, and switching to cast, and then back to tech, I have a very well rounded theater experience.
All aspects of the department are guided by our director and teacher Terri Hobson, and she allows us the freedom to find ourselves in our work, whether it is technical or on-stage performance. It is this freedom, I believe, that creates energetic and enthusiastic, as well as happy, cast. This energy and enthusiasm is communicated to our audience during our shows, making a WT Woodson show a fun and memorable experience.
This autonomy with guidance that Hobson grants us increases our dependence upon each other, intensifying the bonds of teamwork that hold the show and pre-show production together. Our creative freedoms also allow us to provide ideas and feedback to our comrades in cast and crew, helping one another out to give our audience our personal best. It is this flexibility and exchange of ideas that generates our increasingly complicated and challenging technical and acting tasks from play to play. To be challenged with a group of your peers and to surmount that challenge with flying colors gives all of the department a sense of pride and achievement that is reflected in our performances.