Your Backstage Pass with Director of Operations Susan Peterson
7:30 a.m. Sunday Morning. Sarah Peterson is driving me to pick up the truck. I’m texting the Operations Team about their Dunkin’ orders – can’t do this without coffee! – and we’re ready to start another concert day!
First stop – the Short Hills Hilton (of all places). I greet the concierge who has an envelope for me with the keys to a 15’ box truck, parked by the tennis courts. He is super cheerful for that early in the morning! I pick up the truck and head to New Providence. Sarah stops at Dunkin for coffee and munchkins.
The Operations Team springs into action – grabbing their coffee and munchkins. Then we tackle the game of Tetris that is the truck load. Each truck load is different depending on the needs for the day. Percussion equipment, music stands, programs, sheet music, and countless other items needed to get on the truck for any given concert. I consult my checklist and we load the truck to make sure nothing is forgotten. There’s an art to packing the perfect truck, and particular jobs assigned to each team member to do it well. The Tetris/Bungee Master is the person who stays on the truck and positions the instruments for optimum fit and safety. Having a Percussion background helps for this task as the instruments are delicate, finicky, and expensive. This makes Sarah Peterson and Adrienne Ostrander excellent Tetris Masters. The rest of the Operations crew bring their unique skills to the task: James Choi is our eager beaver – he wants to solve every problem before it happens; Bailey Eng is steady, easy-going, and very quick to crack a good joke; and Andrew Morrison is strong and quiet, but he is very observant, making sure nothing is missed. Roger Sweet and Sarah Butler on the NJYS Team join in. Both Roger and Sarah began their careers at Wharton Arts on the Operations Team, and they continue to lend a hand on concert days. Roger is the energizer bunny – concert days make him giddy. Sarah is rock-steady and able to handle any unexpected complication. We finish loading the truck and get on our way.
Every NJYS concert venue is different. Of the many performance spaces we play in, it is surprising how few have loading docks with easy access to their stages. NJPAC is a stand-out, with a loading dock that has easy truck access and a stellar crew. UCPAC is a close second – as their loading dock is the closest to their stage. Backstage at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial reminds me of the scene in This is Spinal Tap where the band gets lost in the labyrinth from the dressing room to the stage as the trip from the truck parking area to the stage is through a long narrow corridor and up a freight elevator. The University venues are not much better. Saint Elizabeth University is the only location with a stage and a loading dock adjacent to it at ground level. Memorial Theater at Montclair State University has a loading dock that is higher than any truck, which requires the staff to lift percussion instruments and stands about 6’ off the ground and then transport them through the scene shop to the stage. Nicholas Theater at Rutgers University and Drew University require instruments to be brought in through the front entrance of the theater building. After we unload the equipment, we must move the truck to an alternate parking lot. Unloading at NJCU is risky as we have no other choice but to park on busy JFK Boulevard in Jersey City, load in through the lobby and house and get the equipment onto the stage with portable ramps. Churches are even more difficult to get in and out of. It’s rare to load in and out of a venue without stairs, bumps, or long corridors.
No matter what venue, it’s our excellent staff and the dedicated professionals at each venue we work with year after year that make it worth all the effort. Our relationship with the staff members at each of the venues we work with is critical. Imagine hearing out of the blue that an orchestra of 100 + students are descending upon your space and putting on a concert. It’s crucial that we have good relationships with all the staff we encounter because they do remember us. I make it a practice to feed the crew (the venue and NJYS staff) on concert days, and it is much appreciated. Some of my favorite venue staff members include Travis, the house manager at UCPAC, who always has a smile on his face and goes out of his way to make sure we and our patrons are happy; Crick, the Production Manager at NJPAC, whose crew are amazing, consummate professionals who are able to help us make the most of their extraordinary space, from huge choral bleachers to raising the orchestra pit mid-concert. And we can’t forget Bill at the War Memorial in Trenton who goes out of his way to make sure that we have what we need.
Once the stage is set up, the parade of students arrive for sound check. Stacy Square, the NJYS Director of Orchestra Administration, checks in every student – mostly by sight! Dressed in their concert-best, the students enter in their glorious individuality. There are the silent tween boys, accompanied by their parents who make sure they don’t forget their water bottles as they go into the holding rooms. There are the talkative girls who are so happy to see each other, even if they just saw each other the day before. Then there are the seasoned veterans who know where to go before they’re told. No matter what their age, there are always students who forget something: bows, strings, music, shoes, shirts, socks, and even their instruments! And last but not least, there are students whose parents carry everything for them and those who get dropped off at the door.
The sound check is a marvel in management. Getting the students to file on stage with all their instruments and sit quietly takes almost no time thanks to Stacy and Roger’s expert guidance. The conductor takes the stage to lead and that’s when the magic happens. All these students – the same ones who came into the building, whether giggly, shy, or forgetful, make music as one, and their unity is beautiful.
The theater is empty save for the amazing Joe DeVico, our sound engineer, who does the set up to record our students. Our volunteer and professional photographers vividly capture the students as they perform. These assets are used by our Marketing Director Alice Hamlet to tell our story. Joe DeVico is an invaluable partner as he covers all that goes on at Wharton Arts and is the most unflappable person I have ever met. I’ve known him for more years than I’ll mention (because it will make both of us seem old). I’ve only seen him rattled once, when a piece of technology worked one minute, then did not work the next. A few changes of batteries and unplugging and re-plugging of cables later, the technology worked again. Neither of us could figure out what happened.
In the lobby, parents gather for the concert. The Operations Team sells tickets, passes out programs, and answers questions. Proud parents have flowers and other gifts for their students. They mill about trading stories about how hard their students have worked and how much being part of NJYS means to them.
Finally, the doors open, and everyone files in. The lights dim. An announcement is made, and the concert begins. Every concert is unique, but there is one constant – the pride the audience feels about the accomplishments of the students onstage. An orchestra concert is an exceptional experience for a student musician because every person on stage contributes equally to something bigger than themselves. Orchestras work so closely together that sometimes even their breathing patterns align. Bows go up and down in unison. Every musician is focused on their performance, from the youngest 3rd grader to the seasoned 12th grader, they are all in the moment, working together to make art.
The concert ends to thunderous applause from parents. Students file off stage and pack up their instruments – another amazing feat of organization by the NJYS Team. Children meet their parents in the lobby. Smiles and selfies abound. It’s a joyous moment. Every single concert ends with people who linger to congratulate each other. Conductors greet happy parents and make their way home.
Backstage, the Operations crew springs into action. The stage is broken down, and the instruments are packed up and are ready to load onto the truck. The NJYS team checks the holding rooms for lost items (there are always several water bottles left behind!) and checks to be sure there is no trash left behind. The box office cash is reconciled, and the lobby is packed up. The Tetris Master directs the truck re-load, which never looks the same as when we packed in the morning. About an hour after the concert ends, we head back to New Providence.
By this time the Operations Crew has already worked a full day. When we get back to New Providence, it’s usually dark out, and we must empty the truck into the building, regardless of the weather. Despite this, it’s happy work. The truck unload is always quicker than the load, but it takes a while to put everything back where it belongs.
At the end of the night, we return the truck to Short Hills and, if we’re up for it, convene at Harlee’s Tap and Grill in New Providence for sandwiches and maybe a beer on me. The team is proud, tired, and hungry. We know that hardly anyone in the audience understands the depth of what we do to make these events run smoothly, but it doesn’t matter. I make sure the crew knows they are appreciated and an integral part of the larger picture of Wharton Arts.
Thanks to the Operations Team: James Choi, Bailey Eng, Andrew Morrison, Sarah Peterson, Adrienne Ostrander, and Alex Post and to the NJYS Team: Stacy Square, Roger Sweet, and Sarah Butler for all you do every day to change lives through music.
Susan Peterson, Director of Operations