As the fall season approaches, so does the Bellevue West Theater Department’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher.” The play serves as a whimsical prequel to the original Peter Pan story, and these past few months many members of the Bellevue West staff and student body have been hard at work to bring this fantastical tale to life on-stage.
Director Jennifer Ettinger said each year the department changes the type of play that it puts on. The productions flip each year from being either a contemporary play or a more classical play. This year their production “Peter and the Starcatcher” falls into the category of being more contemporary.
As per usual, several crews work on this production to make sure it looks its best. The projects these crews work on range from the sets, costumes, and props all the way to the lighting and marketing for the show.
Among these crews, Athena Amaya specializes in lighting. She was willing to cast a large spotlight on the experience of working in lighting crew and the tasks that come with it.
“It tends to be overwhelming, because we have to figure out how to do lightning, while other people are working on stage, we have to learn how to program lightning into the computer, and you have to do a lot of heavy lifting and go up high places,” Amaya said. “So most people tend to be scared of that, and the lighting crew is really small so sometimes it’s gonna be one or two people working on it.”
Amaya also said the work on light crew comes with challenges that can sometimes feel akin to a common fall attraction.
“It’s like a haunted house,” Amaya said. “Because when you go in you feel confident, and some parts, they’re like challenges and scares that you’re worried that either you’re not gonna be able to finish on time. Or in general you think that you’re not doing a good job, but in the end you feel relieved.”
Junior Elizabeth Stratton serves as the assistant costume shop manager and is on the costume crew. She has served on this crew since her freshman year.
Stratton said that the costume crew works on Saturday tech days to prepare for the show.
“Usually, on tech days we evaluate all the costumes that we need for each character,” Stratton said. “Then we start pulling and making what we need, and using the actors’ measurements and following the style of the show and editor’s preferences.”
Stratton also said some setbacks can occur during these tasks. Primarily that it can be quite difficult when they don’t have the materials they need for a particular costume and how that can make it harder to fulfill the particular vision of the show. In addition, they sometimes have to alter certain elements to make a costume work for the show.
The crews have not been the only people working on this production; the cast have also been diligently working on how to best bring their characters and the story to life on-stage. There’s much more to this than simply memorizing lines though, as the actors also work on stage directions and figuring out what actions their characters perform as well as when and where to perform them.
Among these thespians is Andrew Hedin, who portrays Lord Leonard Astor in the show. Hedin said he enjoys working with others while practicing the show.
“I wanted to get involved in this production because I love doing theater and I love the people that are in this cast,” Hedin said. “My favorite aspect of working on this production so far has been the people and the relationships I’ve been able to form with the cast.”
“Peter and the Starcatcher” will premiere on Oct. 26, and run until Oct.28. Tickets are on sale at Booktix.
