Ask any member of the Lake Central Theater company who has had the dream of being an actor, and they will probably say that there is nothing better than going onstage and presenting their work for the world to see. The hard work of memorizing lines and getting everything picture-perfect has finally paid off, and now they finally get to speak their heart out to a sold-out crowd that seems to go on and on in the dark.

Ask any member of the theatre company’s technical aids who put the scenes and stage together, and they might answer with the same enthusiasm—only without the speaking and acting part.

Whether it’s breathing in that new paint smell or pinning up the head of a giant mushroom, there’s always something to do in Tech. With Lake Central’s fall play Alice in Wonderland coming quickly around the corner, this hasn’t been more true than it is now.

“It’s been going pretty well so far,” teacher and tech director Mr. Ray Palasz said.

In Tech, everyone has a task, and everyone plays an important role in putting the show together. Different jobs, such as costume designing, set designing, and working on lighting and sound, are assigned to students based on what interests them and what they are comfortable working on.

“Sometimes I have to just assign a job to someone because no one has taken it or because it needs to be completed,” Mr. Palasz said. “Overall we work very well together. We are going to rap things up this weekend because next week is Tech Week, when all of the sets, lighting, sound and costumes have to be ready to go.”

Mr. Palasz has been working hard to make sure that these designs are the best ones possible. This will be Mr. Palasz’s third year being involved with Tech, and he had worked on productions like Sleepy Hollow, Footloose, and Little Shop of Horrors in the past. While he’s putting a lot of work into all the scenes, there is one scene in particular that he’s looking

forward to the most: the climatic jury scene.

“We haven’t had any unusual issues with it [the scene], and it’s a funny scene,” Mr. Palasz said.

While Mr. Palasz has had a lot of experience under his belt, there were quite a few new faces, including juniors Lily Miller and Kaitlyn Golich. Miller was involved with Little Shop of Horrors during her sophomore year, while this was Golich’s first year on Tech.

“I joined because I didn’t make the show, but I still wanted to be a part of it,” Miller said.

Just because Tech is nearing the end of the work on Alice in Wonderland doesn’t mean that it’s too late to sign up and start working. Mr. Palasz has a sign-up list outside his room, and a drug consent form is needed in order to participate. Practices are every Tuesday from after school until 6 AM, and every Saturday in October from 11 AM to 4 PM.

“If you like the smell of paint or working in dark corners, then you should join,” said Miller.