Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Technical director celebrates 100th production at Dominican
WHITEEFISH BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay is putting on The Addams Family this week.
It's filled with lots of songs and dancing.
But there's an entirely different set of choreography going on behind the scenes. Bryn Van Beek has been teaching students to run what goes on behind the scenes for 29 years.
The Addams Family starts with music that is familiar to most.
And from the audience's perspective, when the curtain goes up on The Addams Family, all of the action is on stage.
"Lots of fun singing. Lots of fun dancing. And of course you'll get the snaps," said choreographer Michael Endter.
Behind the scenes, Van Beek's team takes center stage.
"So, the kids run all of the flies and the scenery, anything that goes up and down. Anything that goes on and off, those are the kids doing it," Van Beek explained.
This show has 460 light cues and 100 sound cues. And all of those scenery changes.
Van Beek-- the show's technical director-- can usually be found watching from the seats.
"I always say I do a good job if I have nothing to do," she said with a laugh.
"This is comms," said Marlee Hills, a senior.
Hills on the other hand, is very busy.
"I'm the person who just makes sure things go right and knows the show front to back," she said, flipping through her binder filled with scripts and notes.
She's the deck chief on The Addams Family. It's her first show. Van Beek made sure she's ready.
"She-- like, I think the place would burn down without her," Hills said.
It certainly wouldn't run as smoothly. This is Van Beek's 100th production at Dominican.
"We try to raise the bar as high as possible," Endter said.
He has worked alongside Van Beek for 23 of those years as choreographer.
"She delegates; she empowers. And what they do is nothing short of amazing," he said.
There's another factor making her work more amazing.
"My friend told me I was a unicorn, so I have unicorn cancer," Van Beek said.
She was diagnosed with a rare primary angiosarcoma two years ago.
"This has been kind of the heartbeat that keeps me going with it," she said of the theater program.
She knows that the show must go on and the students are taking there to cheer her on.
"I want to be like Bryn when I grow up. I know a lot of people here have that same sentiment," Hills said.
Just like she's applauding them.
"You just see all these little blossoms and blooms and these fires that just happen everywhere," Van Beek said of the students.
Van Beek said she told her doctor she'd start working fewer hours - just 10 hours a day. Alumni from the past 29 years honored her 100 shows this past Saturday.
If you'd like to see The Addams Family, there are more shows next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 27-March 1. For tickets, click here
If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message a [email protected].