Purple Haze
High school musicals:
Behind the scenes
By Elizabeth Thomas

January 27, 2011

_____Some audience members who have seen Northern High School’s musicals might often wonder where we come up with our costumes, sets, and props. Obviously, if you want to find a frilly, 50’s dress or a spiffy cowboy get-up, you wouldn’t normally look in places such as Boscov’s or JCPenny, and I doubt that Home Depot is going to have a build-it-yourself castle kit. The secret behind the magic of the show truly lies in the hard work of the parents, directors and even the students.
_____All of our costumes and set pieces from previous years reside in the Sports and Learning center, also known as the old Northern Middle School building, and each year, the director (Connie Bleiler) plucks out a wall here and some furniture there and reuses it in any way she can. We have been very fortunate to have a number of talented, hard-working dads who return every year to build our sets. They spend countless time during practices and weekends hammering walls together until it magically becomes a house, and then the students have the fun task of painting it. Some of Northern’s most talented art students paint things in more detail, such as wood grains on a door or stones on a castle. The end result is a wonderful set piece that brings the show to life and helps students get even further into character.
_____Of course, what would be a show without costumes? There is often something special about costumes because once the students put them on, they immediately step into character. Costumes would not be possible without the tireless efforts from directors and, especially, the parents. The auditorium becomes their home away from home as they sort through seas of fabric, searching for the perfect outfit for each individual. Moms like Nance McCown and Jackie Krimmel have been such a wonderful help over the past few weeks, and even students have spent time searching for outfits or making one themselves. Recently, students and parents took a day trip to rent costumes from Millersville University, which has more clothes and wacky outfits than a Halloween store.
_____All of the many aspects of a show would just not be possible without the help from so many people.
_____We promise to make you a sight-pleasing show this year, even if we have to perfect it down to the last detail.