By Skye Wright

Did you know CHAMPS Theatre Academy has an average of 6 productions per school year? The most recent production, Lost Girl, has been a collaborative effort between behind the scenes classes, acting classes, and in this case, volunteers! Most CHAMPS students know that when there is a production happening, actors will practice their lines and tech crew will set up sound cues around them. What most CHAMPS students do not know is what the people working on these productions’ day looks like. To answer this question I interviewed two champs students. A twelfth grader by the name of Quinn Burke said this when questioned about preparing for Lost Girl: “Going back to one and a half months ago, we started by splitting the class into teams. We made inspiration boards for each of our tech areas (sound design, set design, lighting, props). Leading up closer to the show, we started prepping the set by painting the walls and getting the lighting, sound cues, props, and costumes in place.” Another upperclassman named Bella Villafana (who plays C in Lost Girl) said “Along with learning my lines, I also reviewed them and asked questions with my scene partners Heaven and Jordan.” Along with the actors and tech crew, the driving force behind all of the productions at CHAMPS is Renato Biribin Jr. Mr. Biribin is the head of the Theater Academy and he foresees produces, directs, writes, and acts in the CHAMPS Theater productions. For about a week before the production or so, Mr. Biribin stayed at the CHAMPS Theater from 9am-11:30pm painting and prepping the set for Lost Girl. I, along with a few other peers, was lucky enough to volunteer and work from 11am-8:30 painting sets for Lost Girl. Here are the (partial) results of our labor:🐾