With the close of another school year comes the goodbye to the seniors within the theater department that have given the department their all. Whether they’ve participated in all shows or even just a few, the seniors have played a big role as both techs and actors. While the majority of the techs this season have been seniors, many are excited to pass down the torch to an underclassmen to carry on the role with proper knowledge, and the actors being excited to see a new cast bring life to the theater.

When interviewing some of the senior class, many said that they’re sad that the season has come to a close, but excited to see what the department has in store after they’ve left. 

Of the twelve shows that Wilsonville High has presented since the freshman year of our outgoing seniors, the seniors that were interviewed mentioned their favorite shows were all from our 2019 season, where Legally Blonde and She Kills Monsters were put on in our theater space. 

With four years of shows, however, also comes four years of stress outside of school. When asked what shows made the seniors feel overworked/stressed, many of the answers consisted of what they put on to start the season, which are musicals. 

“… Legally Blonde, Cinderella, and Once Upon a Mattress were all super stressful just because of the nature of musicals- lots going on.” One senior claims. “Spark, our most recent production, was also stressful because of all of the changes that were made at short notice.” 

Another senior, when recalling their favorite theater moment throughout their four years of theater, reminds us of during what was their sophomore year’s show, Cinderella, there was a stagehand in their sophomore year who, while moving a set piece from behind stage to onto the stage, they got stuck behind the fake tree, having to stay there until the next set change at the expense of ruining the magic that was this theater production.

During the interviews, all interviewees said that they were sad that the season is coming to a close, and that during times in their theater careers, they, as techs, felt disconnected from the cast in activities and just overall as the show was being rehearsed. As the next season of theater is going to begin strong with a new theater and new techs/actors, there is also going to be a new Drama Board introduced for the upcoming theater season next year. The candidates in this board have taken the techs’ concerns into consideration in their campaign, and have many ideas as to how to bring the two together and strive together.