There’s nothing worse than being backstage 10 minutes till the show starts and you have no idea where your makeup crew is, or being onstage and the sound cuts out. The actors can’t do everything on their own, there are different crews that have different jobs. Today I’ll show you a few of those jobs, what they do, and why it is important.

The first type of crew is lighting. Obviously, they are in charge of the lights. This is an important job because it tells the audience where to look and the time of day. Here are the basics of lighting in theater.

The next type of crew is sound. They are in charge of the different sounds on stage including doors, explosions, music, thunder/lightning, and any other sound effects you can think of that can’t be made on stage. This is how they make it sound like it’s raining.

There is also the makeup crew. They are in charge of the hair and makeup for the actors. Makeup is important in theater because it enhances the actors’ features, and can increase age if there are actors that are playing older characters. Here is an interview with a makeup artist.

The final crew is the costume crew. They design the costumes and help get the actors into them if they have quick changes backstage. They are important because it helps tell how much money the character has, their personality, and much more. Here are some quick onstage costume changes.

As you can see, there is much more to theater than just the actors. And there are also more crews, like stage and props that didn’t make this list. Could you imagine a musical without its extreme makeup or sound effects? Because I couldn’t. And I think the crew needs more recognition. So next time you watch a play you can think about all the work that the crew does.