Behind the Scenes at Second Baptist

Starting in the spring, Second Baptist School’s theatre department began preparing for the night of one-act plays. An Evening of One Acts includes three one-act plays: Thanks, Awfully, Little Women, and Check Please: Take Three. As opening night approaches, anticipation grew high among the student. 

For this annual occasion, the theatre department moves into the C Gym to house tech week to prepare for opening night. Any student who has taken part in a play or musical at SBS remembers the excitement of tech week. During this week, students attend regular classes Monday through Wednesday and spend 5 to 10 p.m. each night rehearsing and perfecting the show for the first performance. On Thursday, students arrive at school to run through the show all day and make final adjustments as well as perform dress rehearsals. While this all can sound extremely taxing, there is enough downtime in between scenes for students to do homework, play games with friends, or make some of the most memorable moments of high school.  

Junior James Daniels’ favorite part of tech week is getting to know everyone much better. In their downtime during tech week, students also have the privilege of watching their friends perform in their scenes. Freshman Luke Nini says his favorite to watch is Check Please: Take 3. However, with the wide variety of genres across all three acts, there surely is something for everyone to enjoy.  

The theatre students are excited to show off everything they have been working so hard to achieve. SBS students really put forth a lot of effort with their extreme dedication to the perfection of the arts.

Sophomore Caroline Lane, who plays Nanette in Thanks, Awfully said that the memories are what makes theatre so special to her. The crew members work day and night to refine every detail for the performance to go smoothly, but sometimes there are antics backstage that bond the cast and crew.

“When I was walking backstage during a run through, I turned the corner to see Amy’s doll from Little Women hanging from a ladder by handcuffs...it caught me so off guard!” shared junior Reagan Yarborough.

Each cast member, filled with excitement backstage, preps their hair and makeup, putting the final touches on all the details that go into the making of the play. It will be obvious to the audience when the curtain rises and the stage comes to life how very talented our students are on, off, and behind the stage.