Despite Matilda The Musical not hitting the stage until Dec. 5, backstage productions, headed by technical theater director Jason Dixon, are already in full bloom. 

“Part of the fun of working on these productions is that they are so challenging,” Dixon said. “We are looking at using scenic projections in a way that has never been seen at LHS before, as well as introducing some automation into scenic changes, which has also never been done at LHS before.”

Because Matilda The Musical features a lot of moving parts, the group must work as a team.

“One of the things that is the most fun about my job is that not only do I get to work to come up with creative solutions to interesting problems, but I get to collaborate with students to do it,” Dixon said. “It’s really fun to see what a group of creative people can come up with while working on the problem together.”

With 22 members in the crew and 45 in the cast, the group has come together to be a part of something bigger.

“In theater, working in a group feels like working in a family,” theater student Ella Lewis said.

One of the actresses from Matilda, senior Lauren Head, feels even more prepared as a musical theater class is offered on campus.

“It’s going really well,” Head said. “We actually have a musical theatre class this year, so we’ve been able to rehearse and learn a lot more in a shorter amount of time, and I think we’ve been able to develop our characters a lot more than usual.”

For Dixon, however, the fun comes from pushing yourself to try new things.

“It’s always exciting to be working on something new,” Dixon said. “Even more exciting to be working on something that may or may not be beyond the limits of your personal abilities.”