The audience sees the lights, the costumes, and the characters. What they do not see is everything that makes those moments possible. At Germantown Academy (GA), Belfry Club gives students the opportunity to explore musical theatre, technical theatre, costume design, and stage makeup while producing shows like Mamma Mia! In 2025 and Shrek: The Musical, performed this year from March 13 to 15.
While the main production takes place on the grand stage, where actors bring fantastical characters to life, the audience would not be able to see the performers without the stage lights, hear them without the microphones and experience the full effect without many other technical elements. So, what hidden hands are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make every performance come alive?
All the dynamic and colorful lighting that brings life to the performance is just an example of the work done by Belfry’s tech crew. These include running the sound board–turning on the mics during lines, building and designing the set, and managing lighting effects. These responsibilities are managed by Mr. Paul Moffitt, All-School Technical Theatre Director and Production Manager, and a student production manager. Mr. Moffitt is also responsible for teaching and mentoring students who are interested in Technical Theatre and Belfry.
“I love to see when a freshman just decides to go out for the musical and just do it for the first time,” Mr. Moffitt said. “High school is a time when you should be trying a lot of different things, and I think everyone should have the experience of being in a musical. There’s nothing quite like it.”
Being able to see the final result of their work cumulated in one event through the musical brings joy to students in Belfry.
“It’s really satisfying to work on something for such a long time and then being able to see the result in this way and show people what you do,” Emma Eisenberg ‘29, Assistant Stage Manager, said.
Meanwhile, Belfry’s hair and makeup crew works on designing and ordering costumes for the cast. Due to the extreme differences between stage makeup and casual makeup, and the more extensive workload of the former, Belfry sometimes hires professional makeup artists to help with their vision. For example, this had to be done to achieve the look of some of the many animal characters in “Shrek.”
“We had one of our students paint a donkey’s face to make sure that he looked in character,” Ms. Ann Esposito, Middle School/High School Performing Arts Associate Teacher, said. “They came up with the look for the pigs and all these different characters, but we hired a makeup artist for the show because it was so big.”
Planning these looks, as well as performing quick costume and makeup changes during the show, was very demanding for both students and teacher.
“It’s really rewarding to see everything come together and to feel a sense of pride in what we created,” Ms. Esposito said. “For example, Fiona had to change from her wedding dress to green because she became an ogre. Having that be successful and seeing students get excited about it was really exciting for me.”
Moments like these highlight the coordination and effort that go into every performance, even when the audience never sees it. While actors take the stage, Belfry members behind the scenes are working just as hard to make each scene run smoothly. Their dedication ensures that every light cue, costume change, and sound effect happens at the right moment.
In the end, the success of a musical is not only defined by what happens on stage, but also by the work done of sight. For Belfry members, bringing a production to life from behinds the scenes is what makes the experience so meaningful.