A Tech Tour of Decker Theatre and Central’s Production of Matilda

Champaign Central’s Decker Theatre is back and better than ever! From lights, to sound to rigging, the game has changed for Central’s Drama department. Recently performed November 17th through 20th was the production of Matilda, following an imaginative young girl who confronts the cruel adults around her, where the musical’s director (and Central Drama teacher) Ms. Ladonna Wilson, the student Tech team, and other experts have collaborated to pack the show with the all-new technical aspects of the theater. 

The new theater provides the team a designated space to work in close proximity to cast members, with whom they can test pieces. For example: making sure Matilda, played by Ellis Mansfield, fits snuggly in her bed. Transitioning from transporting set pieces to Centennial’s auditorium to building virtually on Central’s own stage is a huge gain. 

Lights

The extent of a theater’s lighting ability can greatly influence the audience’s perception of a show, which is why many are excited about some of Decker Theatre’s new fixtures that make a more captivating production possible. 

One of these special additions is the cyclorama, a strip of LED lights that can be controlled to correlate with the mood of any given scene, illuminating the back wall of the stage. “Before, we would have to put a gel in front of it to give it color, and then it would just be that color the whole show,” Wilson said, noting how much of an upgrade these fixtures are.

As for the cyclorama’s usage in the Matilda show, she said, “I’m not sure how much we’re using that because we’re using the scrim a lot to light front and back, but that will add a lot to many shows in the future if we don’t end up using it this time.”

The students on lights did not end up using the catwalk for the Matilda production, but one student, Liam Abzug, was stationed in the booth in control of the spotlight for the duration of the show.

Mini-screens around the building allow the backstage crew to program the theater’s light and sound features for a show. 

Head of Lights Laney Heggemeyer is in charge of designing lighting in productions based on the director’s calls. They control the spotlights and house lights from the booth opposite the stage and overlooking the theater. 

Sound

Major upgrades in Decker Theatre’s sound system will greatly increase the efficiency and quality of Central’s productions. While our school previously lacked microphones for the entire cast of most productions (having a total of 12 mics), Central now has 29 with each cast member of Matilda using one. 

Other than on-stage amplification, sound is an important factor behind the scenes as well. Wilson said, “The other part of it is that we now have headsets where our tech people could talk to each other backstage, which we haven’t had before. Having the lighting people who are on the third floor to be able to talk to people backstage is going to make that part of our technical communication even better.”

In an initiative to create an inclusive theater, special headphones are now available at Decker Theatre for audience members with hearing impairments. Wilson said, “…it is a system that is set up to boost the sound of what’s happening on stage to our audience members. They can just ask at the ticket booth and those are available. It also should filter out some of the bases from the actual [orchestra] pit which should make it easier to hear actual words and things.”

Maddie Bigler, the Head of Sound, along with her trainees hooks the cast members up with mics before shows and controls the sound that the audience hears throughout. Bigler’s sound-mixing (from her station in the middle of the theater’s seating) will reach audience members who use the hearing-aid headphones as well.

Rigging 

An entirely new layer of production has been unlocked for Central Drama with the elaborate rigging system built into Decker Theatre’s stage. 

“We have a full-fly rigging system.” said Wilson, “Now we can raise and lower 15 different battens, which are the bars that go across the stage… Because we have them, we can permanently keep some in place so that we can raise and lower people.” This gives the show the opportunity to lead the audience to believe actors are disappearing with the system’s ability to move them around the stage above the audience’s view.” 

Wilson went on to explain, “There are some scenes where Matilda is talking to the librarian and creating these stories. Behind a screen, we are going to act that out with silks. The way that we are going to be able to use lights and the scrim and the aerial arts is going to be visually very beautiful; I’m really excited about that. The flying is just an extra expensive bonus, by the way. It adds an extra element of disbelief for a story that’s just about magic, and how this little girl can control the world around her.”

Nguyen explained that only a small, trained group of people (of which there are 6 students) are able to operate the rigging system. During rehearsals, it was stressed that every action was called out to the stage as a safety precaution. The crew and cast members must be accustomed to the location of falling objects in order to stand clear of them during an actual performance when yelling is not possible. 

Stage-Managing

Managing people and props over the duration of a show is a very detailed process that requires intense collaboration. Nguyen was in charge of creating smooth transitions between sets throughout the Matilda show with the numerous objects moved on and off-stage across the many sets. Assigning certain people to move certain set pieces is imperative in order to practice for the day of the show. 

All-new is also the orchestra pit below the front of the stage where live music can be performed by students for shows. Matilda did make use of the pit, which requires an arduous process of dismantling for use. Cast members are conditioned to stay a safe distance away from the pit as it is a direct drop-down that is covered during most weeks of rehearsals. 

Wilson said, “Stage managing is actually a very lucrative job. We’ve had several students from our past who’ve become stage managers professionally and they’ve never had this kind of stuff to manage. Angela really had to jump in the deep end with this one because she’s not been able to have the training with these kinds of things. There’s a lot to learn and she has to be in charge of a lot of dangerous things and of people not getting hurt. I’m really proud of all of the work that Angela’s doing so far and I know she’s going to rise to the challenge because she’s a good leader.”

The Tech crew deserves to be highlighted for their hours of work every single day this past month to bring this wonderful show to our stage. Go Techies! 

• Angela Nguyen (Stage Manager)

• Michael Lee (Head of Rigging)
  • Spencer Bengtson
  • Daniel Canivez
  • Aiden Johnson
    • Faith Kazadi
  • Grace Pelz
  • Camille Speagle
  • Samantha Wood
  • Lily Yang
  • Olivia Yu

• Laney Heggemeyer (Head of Lights)
  • Charlotte Heads
  • Liam Abzug

• Maddie Bigler (Head of Sound)
  • Ethan Rodeheaver
  • Margo Gengler 

Student Assistant to the Director Kate Roth said, “I am so excited. Hopefully, this show is going to be a real testament to all the amazing things we’re going to be able to do in this theater with the silks and the flying.” Roth also spotlighted the actors who had practiced extensively in aerial arts classes to prepare for the show. “It obviously still costs a lot to be able to do these technical things,” she said, “… but we have the facilities for it now in our own space so there are a ton of new possibilities.”

Enjoy more pictures of Central’s new Decker Theatre and Matilda rehearsals!

Gallery • 7 Photos