Katelyn Weiss is a current junior here at the Hun School. As a shy freshman, Katelyn wasn’t sure how to involve herself in the community. However, after signing up to be in the tech crew for SpongeBob: The Musical, she discovered her passion for set design.
“I started doing it for credit,” Katelyn remarked, “but it is something that I have always found interesting as my uncle went to college for tech theater and did lights for the Christmas spectacular.”
She even noted that her Aunt won two Emmys for costume design in the well-known Sesame Street. As a committed member of the Janus Players, Katelyn truly does it all!
Explaining her job in the tech crew, she said, “I help out with everything from sound, mics, lights, and the set. I mainly do sound, but I have had the opportunity to do it all.”
Besides just an outline of her job, a typical rehearsal for Katelyn might include cleaning and organizing, looking up props to buy, making props, and ensuring that the microphones are working for the actors.
“I really like to see everything start out as a blank stage,” Katelyn explained. “At the end, it is filled with this fun set, complete with lights and sound. I get to help put everything together and it’s a lot of fun.”
Now that she has officially been a Janus Player for three years, Katelyn has seen it all. From The Diary of Anne Frank to Urinetown, she has continuously dedicated her time to making the set look incredible.
“I think the hardest part of my job is when I have to do things that are unexpected,” she says. “Like when I help out with extra things, sometimes they go wrong. And then I have to think of a quick solution to fix it.”
At times, Katelyn believes tech work can be tedious, but she enjoys the challenge. She is currently working on the set for Little Shop of Horrors, and she is super excited.
She stated, “I think the set is going to be very cool. We are doing things that we have never done before, like a turntable, but in the end it’s going to look perfect for our production!”
Although this set will be difficult to build, Katelyn is ready to tackle it hands on and continue doing what she loves.
From hands-on building to technology programming, Katelyn Weiss is incredibly talented. Her efforts to create masterpieces each performance shows her skill and dedication to technical theatre. The future is definitely bright for her!
