Last year, the set for the fall play was split between two sides of the stage; this year the production team created a set that’s similar with a twist.

Lumberjack Theatre presented “A Christmas Carol” on Nov. 16-18. Whereas last year’s play, “Fools”, had a split stage, this year’s production built upon this concept by adding two levels.

“‘Fools’ was really neat because we did a split stage. One side was the outside of the house and the other side was the inside of the house with drops to break up other scenes,” Jenna Hill, director of the play, said via e-mail. “We’ll be doing the split stage again, but this time with a different twist.”

The addition to the split stage set is a construction of the main character’s, Ebenezer Scrooge, bedroom and office. It will be a room on top of a room.

“This year’s set is different because on the left side of the stage, it’s not only one level, it’s two levels,” Emma Fisk, stage manager, said. “It’s Scrooge’s office and then on the upper platform it has his bedroom on top of it. So that’s really interesting because I don’t think we’ve ever had like a full set on top of another set before [with director, Jenna Hill].”

Hill has been directing every fall play at Oakwood High School for the past five shows, and this year she planned a set that would stand out from the past productions.

“‘A Christmas Carol’ requires almost ten different settings and therefore we had to adjust the set,” Hill said via e-mail.

Although the creation of the set did not begin until Nov. 4, Hill and her team, including technical director, Dan Behnke, and parent volunteer, Chris Martin, worked on the set well before the beginning of production.

“I have been building set pieces since late last spring,” Martin said via email. “This is a volunteer position, so I work a little at a time to help manage the schedule.”

Behnke has been working with Oakwood High School for 12 years, and worked in a similar career before that. These parents work alongside Hill, making sure that all of the background pieces are together.

“Working with creative and talented people like Mrs. Hill and Mr. Behnke makes it easy and fun to brainstorm innovative ideas,” Martin said via e-mail.

Although the parents and teachers are working hard to create this set, the actors and crew are doing their part as well, dedicating many hours of their day in order to ensure the set is well put together.

“On Saturday we were there from 8:30 in the morning to about 2:00,” Fisk said. “And there were some people that were there longer until maybe like 3 or 3:30. And then the following Saturday it should be maybe like 5 or 6 more hours.”

Nov. 4, 11, and 12, were set construction days for the cast and crew. Fisk works to make sure that all of the crew does their job. Although she does not do much to create the set itself, she manages the crew so that they can do their part in set construction.

“I direct all of the crew, tell them what to do when,” Fisk said. “I work directly with Mrs. Hill, who’s the director to learn like when in the show certain are in where certain things are; I also help find props, help with costumes, and stuff like that.”

Creating something that’s different and interesting like this costs the production team not only time, but also money.

“We use about half our budget for the set,” Hill said via e-mail.

Both Behnke and Martin worked long hours and invested a lot of their effort into the construction of the set. However, they also voice that just because a production has a good set, the main importance is the direction and the acting.

“What I’ve learned as I’ve done this is that it’s more about the acting than it is about the scenery. A set is gonna be a set but what really makes the production is the directing and the acting,” Behnke said.

This past weekend, as the production came to a close, the cast and crew disassembled the set. Now, Lumberjack Theatre’s focus shifts forward to the spring musical “Legally Blonde” with alumni Rollie Fisk designing the set.

By: Henrik Leboeuf

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