My experience as deck captain

        My time deck captaining theatre productions has been one of my treasured experiences. I began deck captaining in the fall of 2022 in the Uni StudProd Sextuple Feature and I have deck captained numerous shows since. As deck captain, I was in charge of moving the scenery and props backstage. Plus, I made everything move smoothly backstage. If anything needs moved or a problem resolved, I fix the problem and communicate with the stage manager. Finally, I make sure the actors know what is going on and when they need to be onstage. 
        My favorite aspects of deck captaining are organizing backstage and the connection I form with my run crew (the people who do the changes backstage). For a show to run smoothly, each item and piece of scenery must be put in place in the right spot at the right time. As deck captain, my goal is always to make the scene changes as efficient, yet quiet as possible. To make efficient changes, I assign one person to do one specific job. Each person gets one job and they know exactly what that job is. When we run the scene change, each person does their assigned task and immediately gets offstage so the show can continue. With practice and direction, each person can do their job quickly because they know exactly what they’re doing. 

Organizing 5-10 people to do tasks quickly takes lots of organization. My solution is creating a excel spreadsheet listing each task, the cue for the task (line before the scene change), and the people doing each task. For example, if a table needs to go onstage, I will list that Mary and Bernie will carry the table on after Romeo says “I hate thee!!!” and the lights fade. After listing each scene change with all the relevant information, I print the spreadsheet and tape it up backstage so everyone can see their jobs and be sure not to miss anything. 

Creating a spreadsheet that contains all the scene changes and everyone’s assignments takes a long time and is difficult, but I enjoy it. I love the feeling of seeing a show run smoothly and scene changes working effectively and quietly. I love the success and hard work paying off. 

When I am in charge of run crew as deck captain, I strive to not put myself above my run crew in any way. In the ‘rankings’ of authority in the theater, I have quite a bit of authority. I would only be overruled by the director or stage manager. But my goal as deck captain is to make the show run smoothly and have fun with the people I’m working with. And I find the best way to accomplish these goals is to respect my run crew. I never try to “pull my weight around” or use language like “as your deck captain…”. I always think of myself as equal to my run crew. I am not better than them, I’m not more important than them. I have more experience and knowledge backstage, that does not make me better. 

And all of my actions are based around the fact that we are equals. When I make a mistake, I take responsibility for it and don’t blame it on someone else. If someone makes a mistake during a show, I explain the correct action for the next show and move on. Reprimanding people (for the most part) does absolutely nothing constructive. My run crew know what they did wrong and they know the consequences of it. They know the audience saw something went wrong and their action delayed the show. My explaining their mistake would just make them feel worse and make them make more mistakes since they are distracted. 

Plus if I reprimand people constantly, no one is having any fun. I tell someone off and now they are mad at me for not dropping the subject, I’m mad at them for messing up, and I’ve made a scene which disrupts the show. Instead, I just mention what to do next time and move on. This way, we stay on good terms and everyone is happy. 

Since I am the one deck captaining, I can’t say for certain how my run crew liked my way of running backstage. What I do know, is I have made amazing and lasting friendships with many people I have done run crew with. One of my favorite memories of high school is relaxing backstage with my run crew in the dark, talking about who-knows-what and laughing hysterically (but quietly). I will never forget my experiences in run crew and I love working with them.