Millikan Stage Crew is the magic behind Millikan’s many events which range from football games, pep rallies, fashion shows, and many more school functions. Stage Crew has been around for many decades, but over the past couple of years, it has made an even bigger impact on our school. They can set up more than 15 events in just a month!
Mario Flores, the Stage Technician here at Millikan has held this valuable position for six years and has seen the changes and progressions made in the program.
Flores is heavily impacted and inspired by Bob Bringham, the Stage Technician for Millikan for 35 years. He says, “One thing I learned from Mr. Bob Brigham, before he passed was, ‘It’s all about the kids and at the end of it, it’s about having a really fun time here on this campus.’”
Luna Velasco, a senior in COMPASS and four-year stagehand member, says “Stage Crew really built up my character to work with other people.”
Joaquin Lopez, a senior in PEACE says, “I know they put on the play productions, and I know that’s like a pretty big deal.”
Mrs. Waters, the dance teacher and dance coach at Millikan, thanks the Stage Crew for the tremendous help they have been for the dance program.“Mario does such a great job training his crew to be professional and innovative to make the whole program much more professional and fantastic,” says Mrs. Waters.
Bryce Cobabe, a junior in SEGA who has gone to school events, says that Stage Crew “has benefited sports events and concerts so much.”
Stage Crew isn’t just a group at our school, it’s also a class that is open to all students no matter grade level or program. Currently only about 55 students are in the class spread over three different class periods. Students learn a lot of hands-on work right off the bat, learning how to use tools like saws and drills, setting up for lunch time events such as music for rallies as well as setting up for after school events like football games, music concerts, night markets and more.
Tanner Reidling, a senior in SEGA stated, “as a musician, I have been connected with Stage Crew for a while, they always help with every single little thing. One of the biggest things they help with is equipment, of course as in the name, but they’re really good with their sound production and helping anybody out in need.”
Without Stage Crew, many of our events around the school really wouldn’t be as amazing as they are now. Shout out to an absolute legend, Bob Brigham, and for continuing his….Mario. Your legacy still continues on! To join Stage Crew simply request it as an elective for next year when choosing classes with your counselor
Aidan Flores • Nov 5, 2024 at 2:21 pm
Dear Corydon Editor,
On October 22nd 2024 Lorelei Brennan wrote an article titled “Who’s Behind all these Events?” The article effectively highlights the stage crew’s connections between different communities and groups at Millikan and shares the massive impact that they have made on such groups and their respective events. Brennan effectively shows the gratification from each community by appealing to important bodies of multiple communities such as Mrs. Waters, the current dance coach at Millikan high school, Bryce Cobabe, a senior in SEGA who continuously goes to school events, and Tanner Reidling, a senior in SEGA and musician at Millikan high school.
Additionally, the article explains what stage crew is, highlights the elective class as a whole, and how it prepares new and upcoming stage crew members for the hands-on work that comes with being in stage crew. Brennan provided this evidence clearly and concisely, sharing how students learn how to do hands-on work right off the bat such as using a saw and drill and learning how to set up for many school events. This article truly illustrated the importance of stage crew in all that they do for all the events here at Millikan. The highlighting of the class and what they do definitely helped me understand what really happens behind the scenes.
Zarina June Verceles • Nov 5, 2024 at 2:17 pm
On October 22, 2024, Lorelei Brennan wrote an article titled “Who’s Behind all these Events?”. In this article, Brennan gives credit to both Millikan’s Stage Technician, Mario Flores and the Millikan Stage Crew that he runs. She attributes the great successes of Millikan’s iconic events, including football games, pep rallies, fashion shows, and many more school functions to stage crew. One thing I really enjoyed about this article was how she gives insight to how much work and service Stage Crew truly provides. Brennan acknowledges that Stage Crew is trained to function professionally, working hands-on with intricate materials such as saws and drills. She also reveals that Flores and his crew are in charge of setting up, taking down, and conducting lunchtime and after school events.
Another piece of this article that I appreciated is that Brennan shed light on not only Stage Crew and Flores, but Millikan’s previous stage Technician of 35 years, Bob Bringham. She gives credit to many of Flores’ inspirations to Bringham and recognizes the continuation of his successful legacy at Millikan through the school’s more recent accomplishments. Something that really stood out to me was a quote Brennan included from Flores himself, which says, “One thing I learned from Mr. Bob Brigham, before he passed was, ‘It’s all about the kids and at the end of it, it’s about having a really fun time here on this campus.’”
Reading this article was very heartwarming, as not many students are aware of the efforts Flores and Stage Crew must put into making these school activities a reality, despite the great population of people who attend. Overall, this article was very enlightening; it brings more attention and appreciation to a less recognized topic on campus.
Melanie Castorena • Nov 5, 2024 at 1:08 pm
This article provides a behind the scenes of how the Millikan Stage Crew has such a big impact on not only theater events, but schoolwide activities. Brennan writes an in depth article on the specific people that influenced this program and how it has continued throughout the years. This message from COMPASS senior Luna Velasco, a four-year stagehand member, explains how their time in the Stage Crew class and community has helped them build themselves socially and interact with others in a new setting.
My personal favorite feature of Brennan’s incredible article is within the third to last paragraph. Brennan mentions “Stage Crew isn’t just a group at our school, it’s also a class that is open to all students no matter grade level or program.” This piece of the article illustrates that the Stage Crew is more than an elective class, instead, it’s a place for students to come together and work to build activities that themselves and the rest of their peers can enjoy. Brennan also asserts that “Students learn a lot of hands-on work right off the bat, learning how to use tools like saws and drills, setting up for lunch time events…”. This piece of Brennan’s writing reveals the true meaning of what being a Stage Crew member is really about. With the many examples about the crew’s involvement in the school community, the readers are now able to realize what actually goes on to create the events that we enjoy so much.
Stephanie Chau • Nov 1, 2024 at 2:17 pm
On October 22, 2024, Lorelei Brennan wrote an article titled “Who’s Behind All These Events?”. Furthermore, Brennan continues to detail the many tasks that Stage Crew is involved with at Millikan High School, and they can do it efficiently. She highlights the importance of their job and why they are essential to the success of many on-campus events such as pop rallies and fashion shows. She also mentions they can handle heavy loads and do what feels impossible, such as doing 15 events within one month. She truly captures the amount of dedication, effort, and creativity that comes from these individuals and why it is essential to the success of school-wide events. Thus, making it clear to the audience the amount of dedication they have for what they do on campus.
Brennan then goes into detail about the stage crew as a whole and how this small group of students has been involved with everything related to the school when it comes to setting up for events. She empathizes that they have been heavily involved in the success of these events and tries to highlight the students at Millikan and having more fun on campus. She then credits these statements by interviewing different advisors of various programs at school, this would include Mrs. Waters, the dance instructor, and students of all different pathways and grades to share their positive thoughts with Brennan. The way how she has incorporated their responses within her article has allowed the audience to understand the significance of this elective to the students on campus who choose to participate.
Lastly, she empathizes that the elective is very inclusive and welcoming as it takes students of all different grade levels and pathways at Millikan to be part of something so much bigger on campus. Additionally, this elective has allowed students to learn various kinds of hands-on work, learning how to use many different tools such as a drill and saw, and setting up music equipment for different events during and after school. This has allowed the 55 students in Stage Crew to be able to feel more connected to Millikand along with gaining more skills that may be helpful for them in the future. Brennan does an incredible job when it comes to conveying this and truly empathizes with the importance of Stage Crew for both the students in it and the school itself.
Miles Young • Oct 30, 2024 at 9:31 pm
This article showcases the Millikan stage crew, which is an elective class selected by students interested in sound engineering and helping set up events at Millikan. Brennan takes us on a deep dive into the students who are behind usually every event here at Millikan. I was fascinated by the article for several reasons. First being the fact that stage crew is such an important part of the school, and most often go almost unrecognized when it comes to our community here at school.
I think the stage crew deserves higher representation which makes this article a perfect fit. Millikan stage crew deserves the spotlight for all the chaos before the madness. I also enjoyed reading the part where Mario Flores the stage crew technician mentioned continuing Bob Bringhams legacy of making stage crew “‘… all about the kids and at the end of it, it’s about having a really fun time here on this campus.’” This sets the standard I’m sure stage crew still sets to this day, having a good time and learning about setting up events, sound engineering, and how to run a stage.
One suggestion for this report would be to show us a day in the life of Millikan stage crew to put the audience in their shoes. Throughout the article, I wondered how long it takes the stage crew to set up for events? What does their work load look like throughout an event? How do they work together to make an event that much better? Including information about the stage crew’s responsibilities and tasks may be what the next stage crew member may be intrigued about.
Sincerely,
Miles Young
Madeline Palm • Oct 30, 2024 at 2:49 pm
The article highlights the value that the Millikan stage crew has provided to make school events the best they can be. Brennan describes how the stage crews’ support has been greatly appreciated by both the students and staff involved in school events. The perspective shared by stagehand member, Luna Velasco helped give a glimpse into what it’s like being in the elective. It was interesting to learn Mario Flores’ perspective about how he has been impacted by the previous Stage Technician, Bob Bringham. The article provides a great insight into the stage crew elective by describing the basics of what they do and how the elective is open for anybody to join. Additionally, as a musician at Millikan I resonated with Tanner Reidling’s comment about the importance and support the stage crew has provided. The article gives the people at Millikan a greater appreciation for the stage crew’s efforts to make school events possible.
Savannah Galvan • Oct 30, 2024 at 11:55 am
This article appreciates the hard work that Millikan Stage Crew puts into every single event. Behind football games, pep rallies, fashion shows, and other events Millikan stage Crew is working hard. Brennan does a fabulous job showing the praise that they deserve.
By directly quoting Luna Velasco, a senior who has been a four-year stagehand member it shares the insight of what Millikan stage Crew does to a person. As Brennan uses what Velasco says “Stage Crew really built up my character to work with other people.” It only shows how Stage Crew isn’t just behind events but about how it builds people’s character. Highlighting the type of people that are behind all the amazing events. As Brennan uses Mrs. Waters the dance coach and teacher and a first hand experience example it only shares just how hard and what an amazing job they do each time. Highlighting how much more they deserve to be praised. We only see the event and how the event turned out. This article makes people appreciate the hard work behind it. 55 people in Millikan Stage Crew do an amazing job and this article truly highlights who Millikan Stage crew is and why they deserve the article and the praise that they deserve.
It’s true about what Brennan says: “Without Stage Crew, many of our events around the school really wouldn’t be as amazing as they are now.” Reading this article, picturing the events i’ve attended the football games, the pep rallies Stage crew is behind it. This article opened my eyes and I’m sure it opened many others. It was informative, and important for the understanding that all the hard work is unseen. Brennan did an amazing job writing this article spreading insight, giving the praise and appreciation they deserve. Brennans message was clear and strong, making me rethink all the events and just how amazing they were.
Noah T Martinez • Oct 30, 2024 at 11:47 am
I was thrilled and fascinated reading the article which talks about the stage crew. I didn’t realize how hidden and undercover the work of the millikan stage crew actually is until I read the article; nor knew who was really behind most events that take place at school. It’s truly amazing how the millikan stage crew which currently stands at only 55 students has assembled the events that have already happened this year and are planning future events. Not to mention the legacy of Bob Brigham, stage director of 35 years is being kept alive and even Bob quoted “it’s about the kids and at the end of it its about having a really fun time on campus”.
I personally am inspired by the article and am tempted to join the stage crew. The stage crew with only 55 students working can host 15 events in a month. Imagine how much of a turn these events can take in memorability and fun if more people were to join. It also makes me question why the stage crew isn’t advertised nor receives the fame and recognition it deserves with 55 students assembling these events of a school carrying over 3,000 students seems unfair. Personally I’m happy that I got to read this article and get to have a glimpse of the stage crew’s hard work. I would hope to join soon!
Yasmine Zaidi • Oct 30, 2024 at 9:20 am
On October 22, 2024, Staff Reporter Lorelei Brennan published an article entitled “Who’s Behind all these Events?” This piece does an excellent job at giving us a clear and summarized view of the importance of the Millikan Stage Crew and its impact on its members. Brennan goes on to interview a handful of participants, including the Stage Technician, Mario Flores, the man in charge of it all. By reading these interviews, we obtain insight into the effects the Millikan Stage Crew has on not just its participants, but also the entire community at Millikan High School. Brennan has brought much needed attention and praise to these hard working members, and gave several students the opportunity to share their transformative experiences by choosing to write this article. I have gained knowledge upon reading this as well, as I’ve learned that the Stage Crew works on so much more than just the school plays and musicals. I applaud both the Millikan Stage Crew for their continuous effort and hardwork, and the writer of this article, Lorelei Brennan, for putting in the time to shine light on our Stage Crew.
Jackson Thorne • Oct 29, 2024 at 3:14 pm
On October 22, 2024, Loreli Brennan wrote an article called “Who’s Behind all these Events?” This article was extremely interesting because I had no clue that Milikan Stage Crew was a class people could take. I feel that Stage Crew is a largely underappreciated group of kids and faculty that needs to be brought into the light more. Thankfully, Brennan did a great job describing what the class is and how to join so other kids interested can try it out. Personally, I have worked with many kids from Stage Crew through ASB, and each time we worked together to set up an event everything ended up amazing. In addition, I liked how Brennan highlighted Mario Flores’ involvement in the program. Seeing the way Flores leads the class and hearing about how he wishes to give students the best time makes me at least have more appreciation for him. Seeing the amount of events that Milikan has, and knowing that all of those events leaned on Flores and his team is extremely impressive.
Furthermore, I sort of got the gist of what they do and learn in the class itself, but I am also very interested in how they prepare for concerts and assemblies. I was wondering if the Stage Crew has to stay after school and work with the dance teams to prepare the timing for the lights and music during shows. To me, Stage Crew sounds like a lot of hard work to get everything right, but I am sure that in the hands of Flores, they are well taught. Overall, Brennan did a wonderful job in highlighting what Stage Crew does and why we should appreciate them for all the work they do behind the scenes.
Cecilia Ribas • Oct 29, 2024 at 3:05 pm
This article does a phenomenal job of bringing recognition to Millikan’s hardworking stage crew, especially Mario Flores, the Stage Technician, whose work is highly needed for the flow of our school’s events. This article highlights the importance of Stage Crew in school events, in which they put in extra time and effort to make sure events are captivating and professional, which boosts Millikan pride. Brennan uses various interviews of different people who have all felt the impression of Stage Crew on their events, from students to teachers, in which this demonstrates how many people are positively impacted. This leaves the audience thinking about past events that they have attended and the fascinating work of Stage Crew that made the events occur in the first place. Through the example of Ms. Waters, the dance director who is in charge of the program and its performances, highlights how the innovation of the stage crew makes the dance show’s professionalism better.
Brennan does an impeccable job of leaving a lasting impression on the audience through an informative writing of the importance of Stage Crew on our campus, which brings the much needed appreciation for all their contributions.
Melanie Castorena • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:41 pm
This article provides a behind the scenes of how the Millikan Stage Crew has such a big impact on not only theater events, but school-wide activities. Brennan writes an in depth article on the specific people that influenced this program and how it has continued throughout the years. This message from COMPASS senior Luna Velasco, a four-year stagehand member, explains how their time in the Stage Crew class and community has helped them build themselves socially and interact with others in a new setting.
My personal favorite feature of Brennan’s incredible article is within the third to last paragraph. Brennan mentions “Stage Crew isn’t just a group at our school, it’s also a class that is open to all students no matter grade level or program.” This piece of the article illustrates that the Stage Crew is more than an elective class, instead, it’s a place for students to come together and work to build activities that themselves and the rest of their peers can enjoy. Brennan also asserts that “Students learn a lot of hands-on work right off the bat, learning how to use tools like saws and drills, setting up for lunch time events…”. This piece of Brennan’s writing reveals the true meaning of what being a Stage Crew member is really about. With the many examples about the crew’s involvement in the school community, the readers are now able to realize what actually goes on to create the events that we enjoy so much.
Dominic Palma • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:21 pm
It’s clear to see that the article was written by someone who cares deeply and appreciates the schools and everything it gives to the students. It’s truly wonderful to see Stage Crew given the credit that they most definitely deserve on a public scale, such as the Corydon. Even though it’s extremely delightful to see Stage Crew receive their credit I can’t help but want to know more about the expedites of stage crew in more detail. I feel that students are now intrigued and maybe wanting to join the Stage Crew now wanting to know more about the process of setting up these events. This may be a later article giving interested students a more detailed walk through into the events and processes of Stage Crew. This may include a walk through from the Stage Technician himself, Mario Flores, or an experienced stage crew member. All in all it was wonderful to see Stage Crew get the recognition it deserves but it left myself and maybe others wanting to know more about Stage Crew.
Emily Watkins • Oct 29, 2024 at 10:07 am
This article sheds light on Mario Flores who has been Millikan’s Stage Technician for the past six years. Brennan expresses all the wonderful contributions Flores and the stage crew has provided for Millikan, such as football games, pep rallies, and fashion shows, including how it has left a lasting impact on our school.
She interviews Flores which brings to our attention about Bob Brigham who was the former Stage Technician before he passed away. In this interview, Flores mentions that it was Brigham who he draws inspiration from. I enjoyed that Brennan goes on to interview a few students and a teacher because it truly brings insight about what goes on behind these events and how valuable they are.
Lastly, she goes into depth about the stage crew, which is made up of 55 students in three different class periods, and all the things they learn in the class. In my opinion, I found this article interesting because I never really knew who was behind all our events at Millikan. Everyone at Millikan should read this because it’s important to give credit and acknowledge all the beneficial contributions Flores and the stage crew have created for Millikan.
Colin Virtue • Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 am
October 29, 2024
Dear Corydon Editor,
On October 22, 2024, Lorelei Brennan wrote an article titled “Who’s behind all these events?” This article does an excellent job of describing all the hard work that Millikan’s stage crew members put into setting up every single event. This article uses great examples, such as senior student Luna Velasco, who shared that being a part of the stage crew built up his character, as well as helping him work alongside others. This specific example gives a unique perspective on what it looks like to be a part of Millikan’s stage crew. However, having multiple examples of seniors with the most experience working with the stage crew could have made a larger impact on all that the stage crew has to offer. The effects of statements that came from students outside of stage crew were very influential because they show the impact the stage crew has on others. The example of senior Tanner Reidling, who shared that as a musician he was extremely grateful to the stage crew for their willingness to help him out when it came to setting up, as well as how professional they are. This example paints light on how others are impacted by stage crew and how willing they are to help out others. Overall, this was an extremely informative article that allows the audience to get a deeper understanding of what the Millikan stage crew has to offer.
Sincerely,
Colin Virtue
Wes Aguilar • Oct 29, 2024 at 9:47 am
On October 22, 2024, Lorelei Brennan wrote an article called, “Who’s Behind all these Events?”. This article gives readers insight into how important Millikan’s Stage Crew is to this school. Stage Crew has benefitted the school throughout the years and will continue to be praised highly by students, teachers, and faculty. Lorelei does an outstanding job using quotes from interviews that she performed, which help show how Millikan’s Stage Crew affects all different types of people. I enjoyed how she added that Stage Crew is a class that accepts all grade levels as well as pathways. This addition of information can help boost kids’ motivation to join because she shows that it is for everyone.
Additionally, I agree with pretty much everything she stated about Stage Crew from first-hand experience. For example, for Homecoming this year Stage Crew helped Vocal Ensemble set up the stage we performed on, the lighting, the giant speakers, the fog machines, as well as bringing the microphones across campus and onto the field. It all happened in a day because Stage Crew is a great team with skillful and efficient people. I believe that Stage Crew sometimes gets overlooked because they are kind of the behind the scenes people, so this article really helps bring light to all the time spent on hard work.
Lorelei’s article is profoundly written but I believe that there are a few things that could be improved. I think that Bob Brigham could be explained more thoroughly and the impact that he had. He is mentioned a couple of times throughout the article but just subtly. I think if she added a sentence or two about who he was as a person and as a Stage Technician. Moreover, her use of interviews is good, however, it would be cool to see the perspective of Stage Crew from a member. They could explain how much they like it, or how much Mario s means to them, etc.
Jackson Burns • Oct 29, 2024 at 9:40 am
Millikan’s Stage Crew is truly worth the praise Brennan shares throughout her article as she highlights how vital their team is when it comes to preparing for school events. Many may not realize or take notice of how important our stage crew is when setting up our events and take their work for granted as they don´t know how hard they work to make every event worth going to. I applaud Brennan for illustrating many of our students’ opinions who benefit from our stage crew work as it shows how important they are and how our performers feel towards them. Furthermore, this praise shows the appreciation a small collective group of people have shown to our stage crew and it highlights the principal duties of our stage crew’s accomplishments.
Not only does Brennan’s paper compliment our hard working team but it facilitates the attention of other students on campus who may have an interest in joining our stage crew to bolster our team to make each event even better than the last. Overall, Brennan’s piece will surely not only help to raise interest in countless other students across campus about how special our stage crew is, but my own curiosity on how predominant they are to making Millikan’s events unique
Raquel Martin • Oct 29, 2024 at 9:38 am
This article provides Millikan’s student body with a new insight into stage crew, a class that all grade levels and pathways can take. Brennan includes all of the hard work and training that the stage crew goes through to be professional and successful at all of their events. She also tells us about the many events that they do which is around 15 a month ranging from football games, pep rallies, and school functions.
The author displays her message which is to get more people involved in the stage crew because the 55 members are split into 3 classes and without our stage crew our events would be a much different experience. She also builds credibility by having the dance teacher and coach at Millikan share her experiences with Millikan’s stage crew which further supports her message. Ultimately, Brennan does a great job displaying her message to the audience and highlighting the stage crew’s efforts in every event.