Many students at Lewis-Palmer High School have heard of, or seen theatre productions that the Lewis-Palmer Drama Club has produced; however, most people don’t realize the labor the crew does behind the scenes. The lights crew, in particular, has an extra risk factor to their job with each production.

Kacie Quiggly, 11, the head of lights crew, knows first hand about the taxing work. “The lights, themselves, are expensive and heavy,” Quiggly said, “and we have to try and hang them just with our strength.”

These massive lights hang off of catwalks, which are large metal platforms suspended above the stage and over the audience. According to Kacie, it takes at least three people to hang one light and no shortage of bravery. Hanging the lights can only be done by people who have been specially trained due to the fact that in order to maintain lights, crew members must balance themselves off the edge of the catwalks.

“It can take up to two to three weeks to retrain people, not to mention how long it takes to train new people,” Quiggly said.

Most of the time the veterans of the crew hang the lights. Despite the physically demanding aspect, and the up-keep of the lights, Kacie adores what she does.

“I was at The King and I freshman year and became interested with how the lighting worked.” She then got involved with lights by default during Oklahoma! From that moment on, she fell in love with it.

“Doing maintenance on the lights and seeing how the colors mesh, and the fact that we are the ones who control what the set looks like, is amazing. The colors of the lights change the colors of the set, and it just made me think about how fun it is and that it truly is a different artform. I like being an artist but I can’t draw, so this is the way I do things,” said Quiggly.

The upcoming production of Urinetown is something that Kacie and the remainder of the crew have been slaving over for months on end. They have been spending most of their free time in the theatre preparing for opening night. The production will be premiered November 12th through the 14th.