Crew Member Evey Arleth gives preview of PHS spring musical production “The Addams Family”

My name is Evey Arleth and I am a junior at Portland High School. I am in the “light department” for this year's production of Addams Family the Musical. I operate and program the lights along with Ray Cymbal and Sora Schneider. In the few months previous to the show, we angle lights, replace bulbs, and program the light board. We strive to contribute our artistic ideas about how the lights should portray each scene and add to the overall setting of the play. We make sure that the exact right places are lit so that the themes and feelings in the play can come across clearly.

We have been preparing the lights for this show ever since November. In the early stages of creating our light cues, we look at references and find the places on the stage that need to be lit. Then when we finally get them angled to the absolute perfect places, which is one of the longer processes, we start the programming. We put into the computer what lights need to be on for each light change to the light board, save it, and repeat this many times until the whole cue sheet is written. This part of the process is quite tedious as well because of perfecting the little things and making sure every illuminated spot is coming up at the correct time. The results are very rewarding.

Seeing the light changes get implemented into the play seems to almost bring more character out of the actors. I have loved working with such great and dedicated people. Getting everything set up for the lighting to run smoothly is hard work but the people around are very fun to work with. Hopefully we can see you at the performances on March 9th, 10th, and 11th at 7:00 pm. Preparing the lights for the show has been great and I hope that it adds to your experience of watching this wonderful production with these talented actors, singers, and musicians.

Courtesy photo.