10 theater students learn the ropes in Las Vegas

 by Allison Carlin
 published on Thursday, March 20, 2008

Photo courtesy of KRT

TOO BLUE: Blue Man Group offers audience members a multi-sensory experience combining theatre, percussive music, art, and slapstick performance.

Correction appended

For some, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but for 10 ASU theater students, what happened in Vegas over spring break meant helping to run some of the industry's finest shows.

Assistant professor and production manager David Coffman led the group of students, future stage managers and theater producers.

"This experience will hopefully lead to the possibility of job opportunities and internships for the students involved," Coffman said. "I hope to make this an annual trip."

The students observed the responsibilities of the stage managers during different shows such as Mystere, Sahara, La Reve and Blue Man Group.

During the pre-show, the students watched technicians and backstage crew as they set up the stage and handled safety equipment to prepare for shows. Depending on the show, students were assigned to headsets, where they were able to listen in on the stage managers' commentary.

Joe Tsai, a theater junior, describes the trip as life-changing.

"When I began my studies at ASU, the hardships of being an actor discouraged me,"

Tsai said. "I never saw myself working in Las Vegas, but this trip really changed my plans."

Tsai was able to work backstage at La Reve and The Blue Man Group.

"We toured the different sets, learning a lot about the details of the stage and the safety equipment," Tsai said. "Going on this trip made me fall in love with theater all over again."

Theater design and production sophomore Brandon Ehrenreich saw the trip as a great experience as well.

"I was surprised to see how similar the stage production was to what we do at ASU," he said.

"What we did at an educational level and what they were doing at a professional, multi-million-dollar level were very alike."

Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas has an internship program with the Theater and Film Department at ASU.

"It is a great opportunity to create a pipeline for aspiring stage managers and theater producers to work with various shows put on by Cirque du Soleil," Coffman said of the program. "Interns make many good contacts through this program and a lot of them get hired."

Correction: La Reve is in fact not a production of Cirque du Soleil

Reach the reporter at: allison.carlin@asu.edu.