Live Show Productions
I worked on many different productions in our auditorium during my time in high school. Each time I was able to dig out and rig up more equipment to make the event higher quality for those using it. From lighting to recording to general stage direction, I learned a lot of varied skills that made the space more fun for everyone to use. One project that really brought all of those skills together was our first Mr. Wolverine (our school mascot) pageant. It was a fund raiser for the Children’s Miracle Network that another school in the area had done a couple years prior. Since one of my accomplishments as president of the student body was to get our leadership to work more closely with other schools on charity projects, we brought mass success to some regional fundraisers and shared ideas like the Mr. Wolverine pageant with each other.
The project required every person in our leadership team to get very involved with some areas high in responsibility. My primary responsibilities were to film all the events leading up to pageant and create a video segment, arrange all the administrative logistics and author marketing info for the local media, produce and direct the live stage show, and be an assistant to the person communicating with reps from the CMN. Back then that felt like a lot of work, but today I manage a dozen major projects concurrently as part of my job, so that feels like just another day now.
The video segment again I produced in the TCI studio, and it came out pretty well for the low-quality of the video camera I had to use shooting all the footage. The most fun was in the actual live stage production. We had I believe 7 different events, including a swim suit competition, live question/answer, formal wear and so forth. I was impressed by the focus and coordination of the leaders back stage getting those guys changed and keeping them moving from one segment to the next. I was on the house intercom system, which I had repaired and rewired just a few weeks before, barking out times and orders to people all over the building. With very few exceptions, everyone listened and did what they needed to do and the show was a huge success. We didn’t raise as much money as we wanted to, but the event was so much fun it became an annual event as a fundraiser for CMN. I’m not sure if they still do it anymore, but I certainly hope they do.