The Spring 2023 Showtime performance was set to come to audiences as scheduled when an opening in the Light Crew left producers scrambling to fill the tech gap. Senior Molly Kelly stepped up to the role, despite her lack of experience.
“I filled in at the last minute, on the spotlight, for showtime sophomore year and had a lot of fun,” Kelly said.
As an involved student, nobody blinked an eye at her willingness to jump in and help.
Although Kelly had worked tech for some performances at Lawrence Art Center before attending LHS, she thinks the experience was more confidence-building than educational.
“The way the stage manager there made our role in the production feel so important, she was definitely influential in getting me involved in theater,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s on-the-spot role rekindled her love of tech, and she’s been involved in behind-the-scenes aspects of most productions since. Kelly doesn’t work alone though, in most shows, she is accompanied by her friend Eliza Pultz-Earle.
“Best friend forever, tech buddy, lifelong pal,” Pultz-Earle said. “Me and Molly have been friends since we were in primary school and we’ve done a lot of tech stuff together.”
Pultz-Earle also recognized the growth in her friend.
“She’s definitely become a leader,” Pultz-Earle said. “She always comes in really early on the weekends, even when not many other people are there. She helps everybody around her know what to do. She’s very competent at what she does.”
Pultz-Earle and Kelly also attended the Thespian Festival to enrich their technical careers.
“Eliza and I went to a really cool workshop about different equipment and techniques, and on the bus ride home we asked [theater director]Mr. Fisher if he could teach us the light board,” Kelly said.
From there it only grew. Kelly has worked the lights on Showtime twice, LHS theater productions such as last year’s Spooky dog and the Teenage Mystery Machine, and Mean Girls the Musical. She will be running lights for the fall semester production Tony and Tina’s Wedding alongside Pultz-Earle.
Nearly two years after her first show working on the light crew, any observers would testify that Kelly’s involvement seemed inevitable because of her natural talent. Her peers have nothing but praise for her work ethic.
Senior Renee Dvorske who has worked on the tech crew several times can attest to her commitment.
“I think she’s a very professional worker when she needs to be, but she’s also totally willing to learn and interact in ways that are not stiff,” Dvorske said.
Although behind-the-scenes theater work is not often recognized, Kelly’s story is evidence of Lawrence High’s ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Pultz-Earle admires Kelly’s work ethic.
“I would just highlight how much effort Molly puts into it. She’s always the first person there and the last person to leave,” Pultz-Earle said. “Sometimes it’s literally just her and Mr. Fisher, building something. I admire that for every show she’s been a good leader.”
