NORTH SYRACUSE, NY – It's late afternoon at North Syracuse Junior High School and nearly all of its 1,800 students are gone, except for a group of students and two adults in the school auditorium where they are preparing for the big show – the annual spring talent contest. The Tech Crew, as it is known, includes a stage crew, stage manager, front of house lighting, sound crew, camera crew and a general crew to run the spotlights and video projector. About 25 students are chosen, ranging from eighth graders to high school seniors, to learn and perform the duties of a professional production company, for audiences of up to 1,500 people.
John Nadler, an English teacher at the school, leads the group. "I have no background in lighting," Nadler said. "I got the job in 1998, my first year here, because I was the only one who could figure out how to turn on the stage lights."
The Tech Crew focuses on eighth and ninth grades. But high school students from nearby Cicero-North Syracuse High School earn volunteer hours for working with the crew.
The spring talent show plus eight other fundraising events bring in the funds necessary to purchase new equipment. Nadler said he buys a lot of Chauvet lights because he's looking for value and performance.
This year they bought a new camcorder and four Chauvet Intimidator Spot 250 lights. "We saw that our show was lacking lights in the front, we researched what was out there. We just recently got the lights and they will bring the level of our shows up a little more."
The crew started out with two moving head fixtures and the promise of extra credit for students who join. It now has 90 light fixtures (half of which are Chauvet) and kids clambering to join.
As many as 60 students last year applied for a position on the crew; only 15 were chosen. "These kids are well respected in the school. It's not considered a dorky thing, it's really impressive," said Luke Morse, a Technology teacher who advises the Tech Crew with Nadler.
Most of the students have little or no production experience. But they do have leadership potential, said Nadler. He teaches them what he knows about lighting and the rest they learn together by reading manuals.
"To be honest, you give them the manual, show what the light will do and they will take it from there," he said. "This gives them a chance to work with their peers and learn a lot of new things. They see what we've produced before and they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves."
Nadler doesn't take very long to come up with examples of Tech Club members who stand out. Carmen Bovalino, a natural at programming lights, is one of the first Tech Crew members, graduating from Cicero-North Syracuse High School in 2009. He now attends Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, NY, studying computer engineering. But he comes back to his junior high school to help out occasionally.
Bovalino said he's always been fascinated with lights. "I started with stringing Christmas lights all over the house when I was little." In junior high school he joined the Tech Club. He enjoyed lighting so much that he went on to volunteer with a local lighting company that did lighting for big concerts at the state fair and other venues.
Matthew Catalfamo is another dedicated Tech Crew member that Nadler brings up. He is now a sophomore at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. He started with the Tech Crew when he was in the eighth grade.
He became interested in lighting after watching the movie "School of Rock" and decided he wanted to be on the lighting crew. "I made it onto the camera crew, but when they had lighting training I showed up, they saw that I was knowledgeable and had an interest," he said. He showed up a few more times and finally made the lighting crew.
"I've learned lighting skills plus computer skills and everyday tool skills," he said. He learned how to solder, how to run cable and how to program lights. "Set up is the most fun, we get to work with each other, talk and have fun doing it. It's exciting when it all works."
Nadler said the Tech Crew provides its services to the school for all events held in the auditorium, from Boy Scout ceremonies to band concerts and school plays. He's noticed that other school districts hire professionals to do these shows because they want that quality.
"It's very satisfying to think that our kids are doing a professional job," he said. And with the Central New York economy still in shambles and this school district facing a $12 million shortfall this year, the self-funded Tech Crew saves the school money he said.
For more information, please visit www.chauvetlighting.com.
