Unbeknownst to the majority of the student population, there exists a climactic battle between the forces of light and dark.  It is a struggle that has existed for years, yet none know of it save those who are its participants.  It is the eternal conflict pitting the performance arts of the actors and actresses against the technical might of the stage crew.  Each faction has its own reason for disliking the other and there is little hope of reconciliation.  I am one of the few who can explain the details of this contest without bias towards one side or the other, having been both an actor and a stage crewman.  I wish to shed light upon this on-going war happening beneath the noses of the unwary populace.

The relationship between the actors and the stage crew is unlike any other that exists in high school.  This relationship is symbiotic in nature, as neither side could exist without the other. However, the inherent nature of each side is incompatible with that of the other.  Being an actor takes someone who is outgoing and enjoys displaying his or her talents in front of large audiences.  Stage crewmen, on the other hand, are people who can work in silence and darkness, often without contact with other people for great lengths of time.  They are inclined to reject social gatherings, whereas actors revel in them.  These dissimilarities can sometimes come to a head, resulting in strained confrontations.

Open conflict is rare, but the feud is perpetuated by small annoyances and frustrations that each side bears against the other.  For the stage crew, the apparent lack of discipline amongst the actors is particularly maddening.  In the stage crew, a certain amount of discipline is expected in order that we not be seen, heard, or otherwise detected by the audience.  We also do a number of activities during performances that require concentration and are dangerous.  Therefore, we are unhappy when actors misplace props, forget to move furniture, or fail to stand far enough off stage to clear sightlines.  The actors may not realize that they are doing these things, but we stage crewmen find them completely exasperating. 

The actors have their grievances as well.  In my acting career, I have seen the actors’ position from their point of view.  Often, we see a situation that we feel is worthy of taking notice, but the stage crewmen do not feel the same way.  When we attempt to express our concern, the usual reply is gruff, sarcastic, or outright rude and we are put off by the negative attitude of the stage crewmen.  Actors do not identify with the dark, secretive nature of stage crewmen, and so find them generally unpleasant to be around.   

Stage crewmen and actors also fail to realize that the other groups have different mind sets.  An example of this is the difference in how the members of each unit relate to one another.  In general, there are many more actors in a show than there are stage crewmen (especially in musicals). The number of actors present means that a single conversation cannot reasonably be expected to involve the entire group.  This means that there are a number of dialogues happening at a given time, lending an air of confusion to the environment.  The stage crew, on the other hand, is rather small, so almost any conversation can involve the active participation of the entire team.  Stage crewmen dislike the seemingly crazed babble that rises from a crowd of actors in favor of smaller, quieter and more private discussions.  Actors tend to be just the opposite.  They enjoy the over stimulation of a massed forum and sometimes find smaller discussions to be boring in comparison.   

The actor/stage crew dichotomy can sometimes determine the success of a show, but mostly the participants enjoy the game of continued argument and rebuttal.  Much time is spent by the stage crew during long rehearsals making fun of the various attributes of the acting society.  Even the actors take pleasure in a stage crew joke every now and then.  It is my hope that the sides can come to terms with one another in the name of theatrical unity, though this is unlikely.  In the meantime, it will be interesting to see each side’s antics in this battle for the stage.