Steel Magnolias: behind the scenes of a strong production

South Lyon Student Newspaper

Nov 29

Rosie Peterson '25, Opinion Editor

This year, the SLHS Theatre program is performing two fall plays in addition to the spring musical—the first of these three shows is "Steel Magnolias", which follows the lives of six women that meet at a beauty salon. The cast, while rather small, puts on an amazing show, and senior Ava Mazilauskas details her experience with the show while playing M'Lynn:

Ava Mazilauskas:

Role: M'Lynn, a worried, over-protective, and busy mother.
Grade: Senior
How do you feel about the show?

"Being my last fall play in this program, I really like the close and connected feeling of a smaller show."

What's your favorite part of your role?

"I love playing a character like this since it's not something I've really done before."

Who is your favorite character in the show?

"Probably Ouiser because of her iconic lines."

While the cast is front and center, there is still very important work being done backstage—and assistant stage manager, junior Samantha Rickabaugh, takes on some very important responsibilities:

Samantha Rickabaugh:

Role: Assistant Stage Manager
Grade: Junior
How do you feel about the show?

"It went a lot faster than previous shows since the cast is smaller, so we were able to get things together faster and easier."

What do you do as the assistant stage manager?

"We get props and paint the set. We have built things and moved the stairs from the set. We also move the props on and off during show run throughs."

What is your favorite part of being backstage?

"I like that I get to build and put together, and it is nice that I get to be a part of the show without being on stage."

Even with an amazing cast and backstage crew, a show would be nothing if the actors were only wearing sweatpants and beat-up old sneakers. Freshman Anya Woloch describes her duties for her first year on costumes:

Anya Woloch:

Role: Costumes
Grade: Freshman
How do you feel about the show?

"I was nervous because I did not want anything to go wrong, but also excited because it came together nicely."

What do you do on costumes?

"We have to create a general plan for each costume based on character quick changes etc. and pick outfits from the costume closet, shoes, accessories, and order what we need."

What is your favorite costume in the show?

"My favorite costume is Truvy's first scene outfit."

Finally, a show would be very difficult to hear if the actors had no microphones, and sophomore Connor Elliot emphasizes the importance of sound:

Connor Elliot:

Role: Sound
Grade: Sophomore
How do you feel about the show?

"The show is great, and the actresses give it more life than the movie."

What do you do on sound?

"On sound, I time sound effects while Max Bardoni uses sliders to turn on the microphones for when the actresses start talking."

What do you think is the most difficult sound aspect of the show?

"For me, the most difficult part is timing sound effects because some lines could get skipped or words could be changed that aren't exactly in the script."

A performance is more than just one group of people; it is a machine that needs many different gears to keep on turning, and without one of these gears, it would likely fall apart. That said, remember to give congratulations to everyone who was a part of this amazing show—on-stage or not.