The following responses to this interview, conducted by Rebecca Cole, have been provided by theatre students Lainey Leslie, Maya Murtuza-Lanier, Nicholas Chen, and Leo Brainard.

Q. Can you explain what tech week is?

A. It’s the week before the opening night, where everyone works twice as hard to fix scene transitions, blocking, and other technical things. It means that rehearsal is also moved to 6:00-10:00 pm, so it can be hard on actors and crew at times, especially on top of schoolwork.

A. We have four hours of rehearsal every night ending at 10 pm (or often later after clean up and extra work). It’s the week leading up to the show to get it ready to show off!

Q. What is the most challenging part of tech week?

A. Personally, the biggest challenge isn’t doing the actual rehearsals, but rather the period right before rehearsal from around 4:00-5:00 pm, ie. the time that I have to cram all my studying and homework, all while feeling a mild droning headache from a (probably sleep deprived) early morning wake.

A. Dealing with the exhaustion. I sort of give up on doing homework so I can get about the same amount of sleep, but I’m working so hard all day with no breaks until so late that I still get super tired. It’s like running a marathon every day (4 hours of performing is INTENSE) and then barely getting enough rest to do it for five days, while still being expected to keep up with school and everything else.

Q. What are your (or the company’s) greatest worries during tech week?

A. The most common worries are definitely that the show isn’t good enough to be put on stage. It’s like that every tech week. Then, miraculously, it all gets pulled together. I think it’s probably the best worry someone could have. It actively creates the drive needed in a lot of people to try and make things better than before, whether it be technical or acting wise.

Q. How do you or the company overcome these challenges and worries?

A. Working as a team, being present when another company member is stressed, and group exercises. LOTS of group exercises.

A. Appreciation circle! During warm-up, we go around and appreciate someone. It makes everyone feel like a family.

Q. What big or small things make tech week worth it for you? 

A. It’s a week of pain, but all said and done, the show, in the end, is transformed into something completely new. It’s really awesome seeing how real gems only form under great pressure. Also, after tech week, I can use the momentum to get other things done with newfound free time.

A. The community makes it worth it for sure. Even performing for four hours straight is time I get to spend with my favorite people, and there’s always a bit of time backstage when we can goof off some. We’re all in it together, which makes it bearable.

Q. What is one fun or interesting tech week experience or instance you’ve had?

A. This isn’t exclusive to one tech week, but before every show, the whole company gets together to get each other into a sort of show mindset. It usually ends up getting really emotional in some way or another. But, in the end, everyone is serious and knows what’s on each other’s minds: we have to make the best show literally ever.

Q. Why should people come to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream or any other plays?

A. Because we put our heart and soul into making a good show, along with the fact that it isn’t just some high school theater, it’s a St. Stephen’s production with real professionals making props, costumes, theatrical lighting, choreography, and directing choices. Each show is vastly different and displays the versatility of the theater group, so missing one is like missing a completely unique experience that is ALSO LITERALLY FREE! Get the Broadway experience for FREE! LITERALLY FREE! WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO SAVE LIKE $100 ON A TICKET???!!!

A. It’s going to be super fun! We’ve worked super hard and the costumes and set look FANTASTIC. And, having watched everyone perform from backstage, they are amazing also!