James Loy 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast by the hosts and guests may or may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Miami University.

Student 

I'm a senior, I'm about to graduate, and I've done a lot of cool things in college.

Student 

I never thought that I was going to be an intramural curler. I never thought that I was going to be the student body president.

Student 

These four years have been the biggest amount of growth I've seen in my entire life.

Student 

It's not just about the academics, but like, what kind of person you turn into, which is super cool.

Maggie 

Here we are, the last sounds of college life episode on major insight with Lauren Kelley, and where are we going this week?

Lauren Kelley 

Stage Left

Maggie 

Whooooooo!

Lauren Kelley 

Which you were there.

Maggie 

I was, in fact, there you guys ... I remember you guys came in, and I was like, they're here!

Lauren Kelley 

You were dress so cute, in that skirt.

Maggie 

Thank you. I was literally sitting on the information that you guys were coming in, and I didn't feel that it was like my place to mention anything about it. But, like, people knew that I did this, but I didn't say anything about it. And then Becca ...

Lauren Kelley 

Love Becca

Maggie 

Yes, we love Becca. Sent something in the cast group chat, like, hey guys. Like, we have people coming in from major insight to interview some people. Like, let me know if you're interested. And I was in the cast group chat. Like, YESSSSSSS! I can finally talk about this now.

Lauren Kelley 

So for those of you who are listening, who are very confused ...

Maggie 

No context yet.

Lauren Kelley 

Stage Left is a theater organization on campus, very impressively, an all student run organization.

Maggie 

100% student run.

Lauren Kelley 

We visited during technical week, which, for those of you who do not know what that is, it is a very chaotic period of time.

Maggie 

Yes, in fact, it is.

Lauren Kelley 

Which usually when you're watching ...  like it was for the production of Anastasia, the musical. 80 students all working very fluidly to make this happen.

Maggie 

Yes, I was, in fact, in the ensemble of this show. But, yeah, Tech Week is, you know, it happens for basically every production that you're putting on stage, whether it's a play, one act, musical, whatever it is where you have basically, like, full runs of the show, hair, makeup, costume, sound, lights, music, like everything. It's basically just you're running the show.

Lauren Kelley 

And to see the behind the scenes of that when you're so used to being in the audience and seeing the final production, the final gifted package, you know, and then suddenly you're there, like interviewing everybody behind every door, seeing the chaos in the hallways.

Maggie 

Yeah, it is wild. Because if you, if you're in Wilkes, the theater on campus where we have these shows, if you're looking at the stage. And then you take a right into a backstage door. You're in our Mic Room, where all of our wonderful, wonderful sound techs would help get us all miked up, make sure that batteries were working, you know, make sure everything was going good. And then you go a little bit further, and it's the dressing room, it's the hallway where everyone's doing their makeup like there's costume pieces everywhere, and there's makeup in the green room, and everyone's getting ready all at the same time. And it's, it's organized chaos, but everything just ends up working out. Everyone knows what they're doing. Everyone knows were we need to be going and then every once in a while, it's so funny when you're back there getting ready, and someone just like, comes to the green room and they're like, Okay, we're doing vocal warm ups on stage. And I'm like, half my makeup is done. Like, I haven't blended this side of my face, my hair is actively being done by somebody else. And I'm like, Okay, let's go. I'm like, walking onto stage as someone is helping me with my hair. It is, truly it is a wonder to behold. It truly is.

Lauren Kelley 

Organized chaos, organized organized by students.

Maggie 

100% student run every show. Student Director, assistant director, pit conductor, music director, everything is 100% run by students.

Lauren Kelley 

Well, it was wonderful being able to explore that behind the scenes moment, and I'm happy that this is the story we covered for this final episode.

Maggie 

So exciting, let's hear what it's like with stage left.

Ethan 

My advice for somebody who's nervous, or, you know, hesitant to get involved with stage left is to just do it. I told my younger brother, he is 15, and he auditioned for his first musical a few months ago, and I told him, he asked me the same thing, like, I'm so scared. I've never done this. And I was like, No, there's no advice. You're gonna be terrified. You're gonna be really scared. You're gonna be up there and your voice is gonna be shaking and you're gonna be sweating and you're gonna feel like you're gonna throw up. But you just have to do it. You just have to do the audition, or do the whatever, the performance. And the first time you do it, it's gonna be this huge weight off your shoulders, and it will only get easier from there. So it's kind of bad advice. You just have to do it. Yeah.

Ethan 

My name is Ethan chambers, and I'm a Music composition major at Miami.

Becca 

So my name is Becca Borton. I am a senior majoring in integrated social studies education and political science. And this is stage left. We are a completely student run musical theater organization. So we do two fully staged musicals every semester, our students direct it, do the licensing, student actors, student orchestra, student crews, student designers, student everything, and we are putting on Anastasia.

Student - Female 1 

It is our first full run of tech week where, basically, we bring everything together. We have costumes, we have microphones, the pit, orchestra, lights and sound. Everything starts coming together to prepare for our show this weekend. So it's a very chaotic and stressful time, but also just really, really fun.

Lauren Kelley 

Just describe what we're seeing here.

Female Student 2 

There are pit members warming up their instruments, ready to play their instruments for the first time, with the actors singing over top of them. There are crew members running about stage, putting marks on the stage so they know where to put everything, even though they're moving the furniture in complete darkness. There are cast members chatting and just getting to know each other, getting in costumes, getting used to the experience of being in the theater before we start performing. There are sound tech members running up and down the stairs, frantically trying to fix the mics. Issues constantly come up, but that is something we all learn to deal with. We all learn to deal with high pressure situations, but it's all part of the fun of live performance.

Lauren Kelley 

Sounds very overwhelming.

Joe Vogelsong 

Okay, hi everybody. My actors. Can y'all come out here for a second, pretty please.

Joe Vogelsong 

So my name is Joe Vogelsong. I am a junior strategic communication and Political Science double major, and I am the Director for Anastasia this semester.

Joe Vogelsong 

So can we run the transition into the Neva club one more time, and then I'm gonna pass it over to Steven and Megan, and they are going to run land of yesterday for spacing purposes. Yes, Maggie?

Joe Vogelsong 

So stage left is, like my favorite thing that I do ever. I think. I like to say a lot of people have, like, fraternities and sororities, and I have stage left, something that I feel like every theater kid has heard from, like a director in a show is like, "this isn't my show anymore. This is your show." And we're kind of transitioning into that right now.

Becca 

This is our costume director Day. Day designed some really cool pieces for the show. Found the pieces for the show. For anya's ball gown, they actually, like, hand bedazzled it. It looks really awesome. Yeah, they worked really hard on it.

Day 

I'm very proud of it. Yeah, it is my pride and joy. I'm probably gonna cry when I have to, like, give it up to the strage unit, but it, it looks amazing. I'm so proud of it. We have, like, a matching little tiara for it too. So...

Becca 

We have people in the hallway just doing makeup, doing vocal warm ups, just getting themselves ready, doing pre show rituals, that sort of thing. Yeah, exactly like that. What

James Loy 

What kind of pre show rituals do you do?

Becca 

Yeah guys, what kind of pre show rituals do you do?

Female Student 2 

Well, I guess we like, in a circle, yeah, we do our little like, do our warm ups, yeah, do a warm up together. Do stretches. And we usually do like a little like, hope this goes well.

Lauren Kelley 

What's your favorite thing about stage left?

Female Student 

Basic answer: But the people, the people are absolutely incredible. I have been welcomed in every single show I have done. Everyone is so kind, and they all understand that we're all learning and growing together.