Helias students work behind the scenes to create the play By Molly Hayes   Helias’s Spring Musical is long-standing tradition, with many talented students using their acting and singing abilities to bring the story to life. Yet much more work goes into these productions than many realize—music must be played, sets built, and costumes made, not to mention the numerous backstage workers coordinating the lights, sounds, and cues—and it is many more talented students who accomplish these tasks. Just as months of preparation are needed to perfect each line delivery, months of work go into the musical numbers in the pit, where student musicians lie in wait for their cues. They learn each musical number in the play, often rehearsing with the performers during the final weeks of the production. “I like being involved in the play,” said senior Katie Arnold, who has worked in the pit for four years. “You get an interesting perspective down there. And we get to make bets on what will fall in [during the performance].” Working behind the scenes seems to engender that sense of fun and familiarity, as senior stage manager Kayla Ludwig agrees. “We like to play jokes on the actors,” said Ludwig, who helped sneak ice into the beds during last year’s production of Pippin. “But it’s worth the work because the show’s in your hands and you want to do your best.” And making the play its best requires hard work and arduous hours beforehand. While actors labor at rehearsals, students are creating the play’s world. Senior Anne Dohmen, who also has a part in the play, has been working these past couple months fitting and tailoring numerous outfits for the actors to help them get into their characters. “It’s fun to see all the people in their different outfits,” said Dohmen, who has also worked in the pit and backstage in previous years. Yet perhaps one of the larger undertakings involved in the play falls to teacher Ron Vossen’s Theater Design class, which creates all the backdrops and sets used in the musical. They spend weeks designing, building and painting before assembling everything at the Miller Center, where they have had their class periods this past week as well as helping on a couple weekends. All the hard work pays off in the end, however. As the curtains opened on Hello, Dolly!, audiences saw a production created by the fine talents of Helias’s students, from stagehands to musicians to actors to painters, all coming together to put on a show.