This Thursday is McLean Theater’s opening night for their upcoming play, “You Can’t Take It With You.” Students had the opportunity to watch a short preview of the entire show on Wednesday during their fourth period. As the final performance in front of the crowd draws nearer, the team preparing makes sure to cover all their bases. A quintessential part of putting on a show is its production behind the curtains – in order to fully prepare, the week before opening night is devoted to rehearsal with all technical elements of the final show, also called “tech week.”

“We run all parts of the show over and over lots of times and combine them into one,” senior John Godwin said.

This process is extremely time-consuming, as the crew meticulously rehearses the play exactly how it would run in front of an audience. That means aspects such as lights, sound, and makeup are all incorporated and included into the practice performances, along with the actors.

“It’s when we work hard for the final stretch so we can get the show on its feet. It’s tiring, but it’s worth it,” Godwin said.

Although this process can demand a lot from students, for those who are passionate it is rewarding in the end. All the time and preparation that goes into tech week will be translated into the final performances, which start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“[Tech week] is where the two elements of the show, tech and acting, really come together and bring the world of the show to life,” freshman Jack Abba said.