Harriton Theater Company has many different departments that all work together to put on each show. All led by our upperclassmen, each department focuses on an aspect of theater to master and aid in each production. Read more about HTC’s departments below!
Cast
Cast spends the upcoming weeks before the show in mainly in rehearsals, held most days of the school week from 3:00-5:30. Additional tech rehearsals are held in the weekends prior to the performance. The cast is directed by Neill Hartley. Learn more about Neill here.
Student Directing
Head: Addison Morganstern ’24
Student directors work directly with the director of HTC, Neill Hartley. This department helps cast the shows, assist in the directing process, give notes to actors, and act as a second hand to Neill. The student directors are a vital role in HTC, especially relaying information to and from the adults and students in the company.
Stage Management
Head: Ashton Norwood ’23
Do you ever wonder how actors know when rehearsal is? Or question how all the departments are always on the same page? Well, that’s where HTC’s Stage Management comes in. HTC’s Stage Management is made up of members that put their time and effort into taking notes during rehearsals, communicating with the departments, and making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes during the show!
Lights
Head: Adam Gilbert ’23
HTC’s Lights department designs all the lighting for each show. They hang and readjust individual lights to create the perfect atmosphere in the theater. They brilliantly use over 150 lighting fixtures to make the show look as best as possible.
Stage Crew/Set Design
Head: Sophie Baskin ’22
Stage Crew transforms Harriton’s auditorium and Black Box each year into something new. They design and build the sets used for each show. With assistance from our Technical Directors, Marissa Kennedy and Carl Smith, the department works swiftly to create a professional looking set in a few months.
Sound
Heads: Gage Klaumenzer ’22 and Ally Fenton ’23
Sound is control of all microphones and sound effects. They make sure that all actors are heard by the audience. The department works tirelessly to create the right levels for each individual microphone and create the sound effects to create the perfect mood for the show.
Costumes
Heads: Tommy McShane ’22, Tess McCullough ’22, and Julia Hoeffner ’22
The Costume department designs and creates the costumes worn in the show. They select, modify and repurpose clothing in our costumes room and even sew outfits by hand and with sewing machines, with help from their adult sponsor, Kelly Myers. When the show comes around, they also help with quick-changes backstage.
Props
Heads: Nel Blinman ’22, Alice Deutsch ’23, and Marlena Marg Bracken ’23
The Props department creates and designs the objects that the actors use on stage. Most recently, they ventured out and began to create show-stopping puppets. The department created an enormous Frankenstein monster for HTC’s Young Frankenstein (2019) and a Chinese New Year Dragon-inspired crocodile for Peter and the Starcatcher (2019). The props department recently won for a Cappies Award for their work in Peter and the Starcatcher.
Publicity
Heads: Aiden Kaliner ’22, Ava Marcus ’23, and Julie Wright ’22
Harriton’s publicity department focuses advertising and preparing the shows for the audience. Publicity gets the word out by designing posters, making promotional videos, managing social media accounts, controlling the website, and more. Additionally, publicity creates the Playbill for the show, takes headshots, and manages ticket sales!
Hair and Makeup
Hair and Makeup add the finishing touches on our actors. They hand design every makeup look for each individual actor and their corresponding role. Without the help of our hair and makeup department, the actors would be washed-out and the show would be bland.
Choreography
Heads: Anjali Rooney ’22 and Ava Marcus ’23
The choreography heads spend their time working with our head choreographer, MeLinda Tatum Kaiser, to teach students the dances for our musicals. They also assist MeLinda with creating the choreography; some numbers are choreographed by the heads solely. They make sure that the dances look great each show by giving notes throughout the rehearsal process.
Pit
Head: Dylan Cantor ’23
Harriton’s Pit Orchestra is well known for accompanying the actors with music in different types of productions. Though the pit mainly plays in the spring musicals, they sometimes provide background music or sound effects for plays to make the experience of the show more real. The Pit Orchestra is made up of Brass, Woodwind, Percussion, and String Instruments so there is a large variety of people being integrated into whatever production HTC is putting on. The Pit plays and have played all types of genres within musicals in the past. Such as jazz, rock, funk, swing, Latin, and blues.