Behind the Spotlight: The Students Who Power Lawrenceville’s Performances

By Chase Spolansky ‘27, Big Red Sports Network Reporter

At Lawrenceville, many students see the final performance on stage. Fewer see the students who make the lights work, build the sets, run cues, and keep events moving: the tech teams.

Technical Director for the Kirby Arts Center (KAC), Jared Goldenberg ‘10, oversees the tech team and its operations. According to Goldenberg, roughly an eighth of the student body is involved in some aspect of theatre tech — and that number rises when including dance concerts and outside rehearsals.

There are several different tech groups on campus. The KAC Tech Team works at School Meetings and events in the Kirby Arts Center. “That is the one team that stays the whole year through,” Goldenberg said. Students in this group handle microphones, projectors, lighting, and stage setups for assemblies and guest speakers. They rehearse and run School Meeting once a week, but often more when events require it.

Credit: Chase Spolansky '27

Another group is Lifetime Tech Crew, which provides participants with co-curricular credit. “They’re helping build, paint, hang lights, and help with props,” Goldenberg said. Their work is hands-on and focused on construction. They meet three afternoons a week during the term. “They’re not running the shows. They’re building the show,” said Goldenberg.

Lastly, there are production tech crews, which are assigned to each performance. These students work the actual shows. “For the recent school musical, we had about 22 or 23 students doing tech,” Goldenberg said. These roles include lighting operators, prop crew, hair and makeup, costume crew, deck crew, fly rail, and spotlight operators. The team changes every production based on scheduling and interest.

Students learn technical skills through hands-on work. “I start with the basics,” Goldenberg explained. For sound, that means understanding how microphones connect to the board and how to control volume. For lighting, students learn how to hang a fixture and tighten a clamp before learning programming. “A lot of our work … you learn by doing.”

Students can also take creative ownership – but responsibility comes with safety factors, Goldenberg noted. Once students show they understand the tools and process, they can help shape cues, looks, or designs.

For students who are unsure about joining, he was clear: experience is not required. “You don’t have to have any experience,” he said. “What you have to have is the desire to be a part of it.”

Goldenberg most enjoys watching students realize what they’ve made. He described the moment when a student stands in front of a finished set piece or lighting cue and understands their impact. “They look at it and have that moment of ‘I helped make this happen.’”

Tech at Lawrenceville is a commitment that gives those who participate a sense of pride and ownership over something both tangible and transformative.

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.