“Goths of America Unite!” my friends and I yell, reciting our inside joke. We’re standing outside the school waiting for the show to start as people walk by us and enter to buy their tickets. Many people stop and ask us if we are goth. We look down at our clothes and at each other and explain that we are on the Churchill tech crew. We get this comment often because of the all black outfits we have to wear on nights of the show. Laughing, we get ready to go backstage.
My name is Kristin Grothe and I am one of Churchill’s many techies. I have only been doing tech since last year, but I already love it. Building the sets, painting, running crew, meeting new people and making new friends makes tech the fun place to be. I have done tech for “Harvey,” “The Music Man,” “Present Laughter” and am currently working on “Guys and Dolls.” As opening night draws closer and closer, excitement and nervousness rush through everybody involved in the show. After weeks of rehearsal and perfecting the sets, opening night is finally here. Backstage, the actors are changing into their costumes and the tech crew is running around making sure everything is where it's supposed to be. About 15 minutes before curtain opens, we have green room. In green room, everybody clears their minds and then gets themselves hyped up for the show. Green room is over, everyone is cheering. Walking down the hall to the stage, there are butterflies in my stomach. My fellow techies and I quietly open the door to backstage and get into our positions. On the other side on the curtain, the lights flicker on and off and the audience quiets down. The auditorium is black. Slowly, the curtain begins to open, and the show begins.