Small Alice(Alyssa Franzmeier) meets Tweedle Dum (Megan Lien) and Tweedle Dee (Sophie VanSurksum).  Photo by Bonnie Bologna. 

What is Load-In?  All GREAT sets are built at a tech site located in Waite Park.  Production of the set starts as soon as rehearsals do.  The construction team and volunteers spend endless hours building and painting the set at the tech site.  Then on the Sunday before the show opens, or in this case the Saturday before the show opens, the entire set gets transported to the theatre.  GREAT staff and volunteers load the set onto trucks and trailers that are provided by the parents of the cast.  The set is then transported to the theatre, unloaded and set up. 

For “Alice in Wonderland” volunteers met at the tech site at 8am to start loading up.  The set was unloaded at Sauk Rapids at 9am.  The cast started rehearsing on the set at 1pm.  A complete set was disassembled, transported and reassembled at Sauk Rapids in 5 hours!  The next four rehearsals before opening night are used to help the cast adjust to the set, practice in costumes, work with microphones and lights and practice with props.  That’s a lot to do in four nights!

“Alice in Wonderland” has a great set with lots of fun trap doors and cool entrances.  The picture above was taken after the set was brought over to Sauk Rapids.  The picture was then sent to the Sartell Newsleader.

-Chris