Techies Doing it in The Dark?

We’ve all experienced the thrill of coming to the KAC to watch a spectacular show produced by the Periwig Club. However, all we see are the glamorous, stage-ready actors. But, what are they really doing behind the scenes? You may have heard about the “techies doing it in the dark” but even that saying, according to a technician who shall not be named, is actually a myth. “We can’t do anything. The darkness makes you insane,” she says—but it does come with a spicy hint of unpaid child labor!

While students gather in the KAC lobby to try and catch a seat, the actors are backstage doing a very important ritual. Before each opening night, professional zookeeper Sydney Wang ’25 brings in a bag of “Twizzlers” and throws it at the actors, who ravenously crowd around her and devour every last crumb of their daily payment. When only one “Twizzler” remains, actors start practicing “stage combat.” KAC janitors informed Larynx reporters that they would often find locks of shredded hair and suspicious white “beads” that resemble broken teeth. “It’s a great way to keep me entertained. Theatre nerd vs. Actor is the hottest thing to bet on right now,” Sydney Wang said and refused to comment on anything else. 

Mihajlo Gajic ’26 gave us some more insight: “Before every show, we take a prop used in the show and sacrifice it to Thespis, the god of theatre.”  During this ritual, it is vital that “Macbeth” be shouted as often as possible to guarantee the success of a show. 

Sophie Yang ’26 recalls, with horror, an instance where they had forgotten to yell the word. “I had to bandage a foot that was split open…our costumes rotted and got eaten by maggots,” Yang described. “The show went terribly. Everyone forgot their lines.” 

The actors aren’t the only important players in the dark, though. Periwig’s technicians, who put on their own “mini-performance” backstage, fulfill several vital roles. “It’s a lot of singing over headsets. We lie on the floor for techie floor time and make snow angels, but instead of snow it’s sawdust,” Periwig’s official knot tier Dorothy Lee ’26 disclosed. “It’s quite poetic if you think about it,” she added, claiming that it reflects their state of mind. When asked to elaborate, Lee claimed she was busy and ran away, raising the question: is the true show the one the audience can’t see?

The answer to that question appears to be yes. “My role in the council is currently the manager of the backstage toilet,” Joshua Wang ’27 revealed. Every day, Wang can be found lurched over the tiny toilet bowl in the dingy little stall backstage, scrubbing the toilet,s his “baby.” “It has to be pristine when the actors [go about their business] in there. I usually make sure there's a surplus of toilet paper inside, but sometimes we run out. Then I just put a rag in there instead.” He’s right: sharing is caring, after all!

During productions, however, Joshua Wang takes on a whole new role. Do you remember those lights that turn on every show? They’re operated by those we call “in-theater slang ‘runners,’” technicians who are tasked with sprinting to each light and turning them on manually for every light cue they have. Joshua Wang usually only needs about three seconds to get from the balcony to backstage and then back to the booth to make it through all the lights needed. He clocks about 13.1 miles in a single production–a skill that can be attributed to his fall track commitment. Despite being one of the best runners in Periwig, even Wang has times when he slips up. “Sometimes, I’m half a second late, and our lighting guy, Anton Popowitz ’26, isn't very happy with me. But his disapproval gives me motivation to practice my running so that I can get even faster.” When contacted, Popowitz refused to comment on the matter.

Despite all these responsibilities, all interviewees nevertheless commend the solidarity of the Periwig community. After all these ordeals, the actors and technicians somehow have never lost spirit and continue to support the production and make sure the audience sees nothing except the beauty of stage magic. It is important to note that seven out of ten people we reached out to declined to respond to our request for comment, suggesting that Periwig is hiding something more. Mysterious handprints on the back of the musical set? Freshmen used as fly-weights? Peri-the-wig?! (Wang alluded to something of the sort, but then paused, as if silenced, then looked around in fear.) Nothing is what it seems, Lawrentians…so perhaps you all should join Periwig to discover the mysteries of the dark and murky theater for yourselves.