The Light Booth of Kaneb Theater is the command center of every Prep Drama Guild production, and it is where we find student Michael Dorsey '26, sitting at the helm.
While the rest of Campus is quiet, the cast and "kroo" of the Drama Guild are hard at work this past February break putting the polishing touches on their production of "The Book of Will". Crucial to those final touches is senior Michael Dorsey, the head lighting designer of the production.
Q: How long have you been with the "Kroo"?
A: I've been with the Drama Guild for two years now, and I've been doing lighting for both years of it. I really enjoy it, it's been nice to see the show build from the background out.
Q: What's the process been like for this production?
A: It starts with the actors first, and then the Kroo starts working their elements into it. When it all comes together, that's when it becomes a real show. It stops just being words being said on a stage. There's a lot that we need to think about to work with the actors. At this point in the process, the actors have just gotten their scenes on the stage with the set, so I'm just going along with what they are doing . There are different "zones" of light on the stage, so I have to follow them first and build out around that.
Q: Who taught you the ropes? Any mentors?
A: We have a tradition here where the upperclassmen with mentor the underclassmen every year sort of how our lighting design works. For me, it was Theo Carlin '25 and Matt Henderson '25, they showed me the ropes of lighting design. Now, we have an 8th grader who is about to be a freshman, Harvey, who we have been mentoring to kind of take our place when we graduate.