December at the Baltimore School for the Arts brings upon the annual performances of The Nutcracker: A Magical Tale in Mount Vernon, a dedicated time for the Dance Department and the TWIGS dance students to shine. Yet, this is also a chance for Stage Design & Production (SDP) students to excel.

Both dancers and SDP students play major roles in bringing The Nutcracker to life, with dancers in the foreground and SDP in the background. Yet, since the tasks of an SDP student are more behind-the-scenes, sometimes the roles are overlooked or forgotten compared to the other performing art departments. So what does SDP do for The Nutcracker?

Brigid Tonnessen, a senior SDP student, held the role of the Stage Manager for this year’s Nutcracker, the most crucial leadership role for any SDP student to have.

“The Stage Manager truly makes everything happen. The aspect of the Stage Manager is keeping an eye on every single department, from crew, to wardrobe, to tech. The role truly merges crew with organization and management in a way that is integral to everything behind the curtain,” explained Tonnessen.

Additionally, the Stage Manager is the reason the lights, sound, and crew knows when to make their moves. Without the Stage Manager calling their cues, each role wouldn’t know when to act.

Part of the extravagance in The Nutcracker from SDP is not only found in the direct cues from the Stage Manager, such as the rising of the Washington Monument, or the cannon firing at the mice, but in the costumes as well. 

The costumes are the way to personally identify each character. The audience recognizes Sugar Plum Fairy’s purple tutu, and the Snow Princess’s icy blue dress. All clothing elements are under the control of the costume department.

Johanna Dudley, a junior SDP student, worked in costume/wardrobe for Nutcracker. “In wardrobe, my role mainly consists of two things. Before we start dress rehearsals, we spend our time doing fittings and a ton of alterations and fixes. During dress rehearsals and shows, we work in the ballroom dressing room doing last minute alterations, helping with quick changes, helping with hair, sewing shoes, etc. Basically anything that needs to be done to make sure all of the costumes fit correctly and everyone is ready to go on stage,” said Dudley. 

Additionally, wardrobe must organize, coordinate, and wash costumes. With many dancers sharing costumes, not only does each costume need to fit, but they need to be properly cleaned. After all shows, each wardrobe person must “do all the laundry.”

Another role that plays a major part in bringing Nutcracker to life is the “fly.” The fly is a system located above stage left that controls the rails above the stage, which in turn hold up the larger set pieces like the sphinx.

Kai Harris, a junior SDP student, was in charge of the fly system. “I make it snow and bring the monument up. I was always most excited about the snow ‘cause it just made it feel so magical,” said Harris.

The snow is one of the most magical moments in the show and always gets an audible crowd reaction. In addition to the snowfall and the monument rising, the fly also controls the whipped cream swirls that lower at the start of Flowers. The fly helps to set the setting and make whimsical elements of The Nutcracker a reality. 

A different role that plays an important part is Spot, which runs the spotlights to help specific, special characters stand out throughout the show, a few being Sugar Plum Fairy, Cavalier, Red Rose, and more.

Spot works directly with the Light Board Operator, who controls when and to what intensity the spotlights are on, under the supervision of the Stage Manager. One of the Spotters for Nutcracker this year is Kaeden Higgs, a senior SDP student. 

“I come in as backup stage crew as well. During intermission and even before we get to show time I’m all hands on deck with the rest to not only fill in, but lighten their load when I can,” said Higgs.

These are only a few of the SDP roles that helps to bring Nutcracker to life. Additionally, there is a Sound Board Operator, who runs not only sound but also the projections that appear throughout the performance, and the Assistant Stage Manager and Stage Crew, who are in charge of everything on stage from technical elements to assisting dancers if necessary, and more.  Put all of these elements together with the dancers, and you get a magical show.

Even though SDP is not a spotlighted role, it is just as important as the art of performing. “SDP definitely plays a huge role in bringing the magic to Nutcracker,” said Dudley. 

“All credit to the dancers and their contributions, but without SDP, nutcracker as we know it just wouldn’t be possible. A lot of the extravagance would be lost without the crew,” said Tonnessen.

Both roles, the performer and the crew, are necessary to making a show a reality. “Even behind the curtains, don’t forget us as we put in blood, sweat, tears and heart into the show too. We put our all because we want to see the joy on the crowd and our fellow students’ faces,” said Higgs.

As you congratulate the dancers on their excellent performances, let’s not forget those behind the scenes that help to make the performances come to life.

To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

Featured photos by Ashley Williams and Kenya Price for The Muse.