麻豆精品 S淚 spend 30 seconds looking around and taking it all in, 麻豆精品 S� says Jackson, a senior theatre major with a track in design and technology. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 probably like a young baseball player going onto the field at Yankee Stadium for the first time. You 麻豆精品 S檙e in awe. 麻豆精品 S�

After a brief time on the stage, Jackson goes behind it. A year 麻豆精品 S檚 worth of work has built up to this: more than 40 shows over the course of 10 days. Jackson is one of 1,700 participants from UCF involved in bringing CTA to this point. Many of them will not be taking bows in front of an audience. They are stage managers, company managers, props crew, show crew, light technicians, audio technicians, set designers, costume designers, hair stylists, makeup stylists, and every kind of backstage operative who makes it possible to pull open the curtains for professional-level performances on these world-class stages.

麻豆精品 S淭his is unique, 麻豆精品 S� says Bert Scott, theater professor and director of production. 麻豆精品 S淚 don 麻豆精品 S檛 know of any other university with a program where students work backstage in a setting like Dr. Phillips Center. It 麻豆精品 S檚 invaluable. 麻豆精品 S�

UCF has a special arrangement with Dr. Phillips Center that started when the center opened its doors 10 years ago, where students are allowed to work alongside union workers during the festival. None of the backstage work is scripted. It is as real and raw as it is in the world of theater.

麻豆精品 S淎nywhere else, you would have to choose between working a job in theater or earning a degree, 麻豆精品 S� says Claudia Lynch, associate professor of stage management. 麻豆精品 S淔or UCF students, this is their curriculum. The experience at UCF Celebrate the Arts and the classwork go together. 麻豆精品 S�

B Antonetty transferred to UCF three years ago after making two discoveries. One, there are a multitude of careers in stage management. And two, UCF is the only public university in Florida that offers a theatre Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a track in stage management.

麻豆精品 S淭his is why I came to UCF, 麻豆精品 S� Antonetty says from a backstage area at Dr. Phillips Center. 麻豆精品 S淪o much of working backstage is knowing the language and being able to collaborate with people in every facet of theater. We cover as much as possible on campus, and then we come here and have our hands on everything. We work with union workers and find actual solutions as actual problems come up. 麻豆精品 S�

To be clear, UCF Celebrates the Arts is not a 10-day theater lesson. The work on the 2024 event started more than a year ago. Dozens of Scott 麻豆精品 S檚 design and technology students have been creating scenery, costumes, and set pieces for nine months. For every week the onstage cast rehearses, the backstage crew puts in two weeks.

麻豆精品 S淭he barber chair in Sweeney Todd is one example, 麻豆精品 S� Scott says.

The audiences at the four performances of Sweeney Todd will see the centerpiece barber chair transform into a chute, over and over, with actors sliding out of sight. What they won 麻豆精品 S檛 see are the 182 hours Jackson spent researching, designing, constructing, testing, re-constructing, and re-researching how to build the chair to ensure it 麻豆精品 S檚 safe and durable enough to withstand a week of shows.

麻豆精品 S淲e learn a lot of multidisciplinary skills in the program, 麻豆精品 S� Jackson says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e learned electronics, welding, construction and how to research. In this field you have to constantly come up with new ideas, and research is the best way to add to my toolbox and be marketable. 麻豆精品 S�

Networking is another powerful tool for anyone pursuing a career in theater. Lynch energizes UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 network, having spent 20 years working in New York City.

麻豆精品 S淥ur faculty connections are strong, 麻豆精品 S� she says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut we also have an advisory board of working professionals and an influential alumni base in places where these students want to be someday. 麻豆精品 S�

Lauren Koval 麻豆精品 S�21 is one of those graduates. Koval worked at UCF Celebrates the Arts during all four years as a student in stage management. A few months after the final CTA performance of 2021, Koval moved to New York to work backstage on a musical. It became a steppingstone into jobs with HBO Max, a Broadway firm, Showtime, and Netflix. Along the way, Koval invited other UCF students and alumni into the growing network.

For these 10 days, however, Koval has chosen to leave New York and come back to work as a production supervisor for CTA, unfazed by the 14-hour days.

麻豆精品 S淣othing could stop me from contributing to this amazing experience, 麻豆精品 S� Koval says. Koval has worked in iconic Broadway theaters and yet is still in awe of the venues at Dr. Phillips Center.

麻豆精品 S淭hese spaces are unlike any I 麻豆精品 S檝e seen during my time in New York. And then you add the notion of being hired back by the same people at UCF who shaped me and my career, it 麻豆精品 S檚 hard to imagine anything more special than this. 麻豆精品 S�

Students like Jackson and Antonetty are on the verge of starting their own backstage careers. The experience at CTA makes the transition less daunting.

麻豆精品 S淲orking backstage at CTA makes me feel like I 麻豆精品 S檓 in a dream of where I want to be, 麻豆精品 S� Antonetty says. 麻豆精品 S淭hese are high-stakes productions, and I 麻豆精品 S檓 working with mentors, classmates, and professionals who have my back to make sure I can 麻豆精品 S檛 fail. 麻豆精品 S�

There will be a lot of emotion when Jackson steps behind the stages of CTA for the final time as a student. Anxiety about the future will not be one of them.

麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 excited, 麻豆精品 S� Jackson says. 麻豆精品 S淭hese shows create the perfect space between being a college student and starting a career. I know I 麻豆精品 S檓 ready. 麻豆精品 S�

Lynch listens to all of the conversations and appears very much at ease for someone with so many plates spinning at the moment.

麻豆精品 S淭his event is a massive undertaking, 麻豆精品 S� Lynch says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut every year when we walk in the door of this incredible Dr. Phillips Center, our faculty members look at the stages and we look at the faces of our students. And we say, 麻豆精品 S榊eah, this is why we do this. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�