Alaina Goldberg, Managing Editor

     The new theatrical set design course now offered at Penn-Trafford allows students to become a part of the school fall play and spring musical in an important way: through the sets.

    In the class, they will be able to help design and put together sets that will be seen in shows held at the school.

    Jen Haberberger, the drama guild sponsor, teaches the class. She said she is excited about the interest she has gotten from the students for the class, especially because it will benefit the drama guild in many ways.

    Senior David Carver has been in many drama productions and is now taking the set design class. He said that the class makes the kids want to put even more hard work into their productions because of the support of motivation it brings.

    “There are 13 kids in the class this year; we are all learning together,” Haberberger said.

    Putting together a set for a show that will be seen by huge audiences is a large task, she explained.

    “The class teaches you about the art of making a theatrical production so unreal and magical,” Carver said.

    The set design class is going to focus on everything that goes into a theater production other than acting, according to Haberberger. Construction, costumes and props will be addressed, among other things.

    Haberberger is planning to make the class’s first project historical and based off of masks used in stage production. After that, the class will be making props, some facets of sets for the shows, set models and costume concepts for instruction.

    The process used to create sets for the drama productions usually starts with a scenic designer who creates the sets alongside the director. They both  have to work around the auditorium stage arrangement and the drama guild’s budgetary limitations.

    In this class, students will be working alongside the director and set-building team. Most of the students are already a part of the paint or set crew, so they are aware of what goes into creating the backdrop for a show.

    Haberberger said that the class requires commitment from students, but they have lots of help on the side.

    “We have parent volunteers and coordinators that do a lot of the backstage work in the evenings and wanted to give students that are involved in the shows as actors the opportunity to experience the other side of theater production,” Haberberger said.

    Carver said that it makes you see all of the work and dedication set designers put into their shows.

    Haberberger added that there are many job opportunities in theatre that most people do not know about. This class will give students a chance to learn and hear about these careers from professional speakers as well as from instruction.

    “My expectations for the class are that students take the knowledge they learn past high school,” Haberberger said.

   Haberberger said her goal for the class was to find a way to extend the opportunities of what the drama guild does at the evening rehearsals to the rest of the student body.  

    The students in the class are soon going to be busy making sets for  P-T’s fall play, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”