Curious about Aida Preparations?

By Meglin Bodner

  It is amazing how many long hours of challenging work are put into the spring musical even before the acting starts. Preparation for Aida begins in January and ends in March. That is three months creating props and costumes to use on opening night and the following performances! Construction was done by parent volunteers, both men and women, and two students. They made the extra wooden stage that covers the original one and the outside of “the pit” where the orchestra played. Almost every day they continued to improve the stage and props. The front of the stage was painted to look like stones and the wooden steps and platforms have been made for the cast to stand on when the performances took place. Volunteers have been working on this production since January to create all the the props that were used. Costumes are sewn by parent volunteers and about six to eight students. These costumes are essential to any musical, including Aida, because they bring the viewers into the time period the story takes place in. Sewing clothing takes a long time especially when there are about 58 cast members and most of them have more than one outfit to wear! The women and students are definitely kept busy through those three months.  And during the performances, there was at least one parent volunteer on standby backstage in case a costume gets torn and has to be repaired quickly. This ensures that there will be no mishaps onstage. The crew of volunteers who spent countless days making sure Aida can be the best musical it can be should be shown appreciation. They are worked their hardest to make Aida a successful production by creating stage props and clothing. Props and costumes gave the musical the extra feeling of setting and time period. They added on to the musical and helped visualize the scenery. With all these added props and costumes, Aida was spectacular! Thank you all, volunteers! Thank you wonderful cast! For Making this a musical to remember!