Behind the curtains at Thoroughly Modern Millie Shining a spotlight on the faces that may not be centre stage in a musical production, but are as equally important By David Warner Photography by Amanda Skrabucha
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t’s a rainy Sunday evening and inside a cramped room in Kerr Hall, a world is being built. The orchestra plays its first note and actors take to the stage (a space in the middle of the room where desks have been pushed aside). In an instant, reality melts away and the room transforms into New York City in the 1920s — the setting for the Ryerson Musical Theatre Company’s debut production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Millie and company sing and dance their hearts out, the scene ends, and the invisible yet ever-important stage crew sets out to work, moving the necessary props — chairs and desks for now — in and out for the next scene. Even though it’s not an actual stage, it’s hard to spot them — it’s like a magnificent act of sleight of hand. “In a professional setting, usually it’s like you’re not as appreciated,” says Taylor Young, the production’s lead stage hand. “I think because we’re all volunteers, [everyone in the production is] grateful that we’re volunteering our time.” Young constantly clarifies what needs to go where; one error could cause the show’s world to come crashing down. If the show’s actors are the cogs that make the production work, the stage crew is the oil that ensures everything runs smoothly. A production, after all, is a complicated equation of musical cues, impressive choreography, and thin margins for error; one weak link could cause it to break. “It’s such a family,” says found-
er and president of the RMTC, Robyn Hoja, who is also serving as director for the company’s first production. “At the end of the day, this company isn’t anything without our full cast and our full crew and our full orchestra and our full production team and our full executive.” A third-year creative industries student, Hoja founded the company after finding opportunities for musical theatre on campus to be lacking, especially for non-theatre students. She formally pitched the idea to the Ryerson Communication and Design Society in her second year to unanimous approval. The RMTC officially launched in January 2015. At its core, the RMTC is about giving an opportunity to students who might not be able to participate in theatre otherwise. Overall, the production is a first for a lot of the behind-thescenes team. “I’m not a theatre person,” says scenic director Carley Crossman. “I took drama in high school, but that’s just because drama class was a fun class to take.” Crossman, an interior design student who was used to the meticulous design of film sets, had to adjust to the less detail-oriented set design of theatre. She pulls out her laptop and opens an image of a mock newspaper she made, complete with minute details. “Evan, our carpenter, he was laughing at me. He was like, ‘That’s a great film prop. Don’t know about theatre.’ I was like, ‘Well it looks great,’” she says playfully
with a shrug. By the time the team finally moves into the Betty Oliphant Theatre on Feb. 7 — less than three weeks before the show’s opening — Crossman is scrambling to get every piece of the set done. The team enlists all the help they can get, recruiting actors, stage hands, and members of the production team to help with set construction in the Ryerson School of Interior Design’s woodshop. The late arrival of supplies causes a slight snag in production, but by the end of the first construction night, the team walks out with their first scenery flat. Bit by bit, everything comes together. At the next rehearsal, more props make their way to the stage and new costumes are revealed. As the actors move from number to number, Crossman sits in the back of the theatre with her laptop in front of her. She’s glued to the screen as she plays with some text for a design she’s been working on. In the shadows of the stage’s wings, stage hands navigate through the darkness, preparing props and set pieces for whatever comes next. From Feb. 24 to 27 the audience may only see Millie and her cohorts, but they’re completely oblivious to the production’s complex ecosystem. “By no means is this a one-woman company. This is an 80-person company.” says Hoja. “Whether they realize it or not, we couldn’t do it with one less person.”