The curtain opens, the lights come on, and the performance begins. All the things on stage are being managed by someone who is also on stage or backstage, except for lights and sound. In the booth, Linus Ryland, the auditorium manager, is controlling all of the things that help make a show.
When his children started doing musicals at Rapid Run Middle School, Ryland started volunteering more for the shows. For twelve years now, Ryland has been the auditorium manager for Rapid Run Middle School and ten years for Oak Hills High School.
In high school, Ryland was involved in drama club, band, and orchestra at Oak Hills. Over the last year, Ryland has done many shows at Oak Hills and Rapid Run.
“It’s over 100, I don’t know the exact amount. In 2024, I did 18, as well as all of the concerts and meetings and other activities that came, but 18 actual musicals and plays.” Ryland shared.
These shows include outside shows that perform at the middle school and high school, while also including the school’s own shows. During the shows last year for Oak Hills High School drama club, Ryland spent three days on lighting and one on sound for ‘Moon Over Buffalo’, and it took seven days for sound and fifteen for lighting for ‘Les Miserable’. After doing so many shows in his time as auditorium manager, Ryland does have a favorite.
“‘Mama Mia’,” responded Ryland. “I really like the music. I really like the energy that the kids had, and I really enjoyed it when I saw it at the Aronoff so it was neat to be able to take something I had seen there at that level and be a part of something that was amazing here.”
When he isn’t working on one of the performances or repairing the technology, he is working his other job.
“I’m a financial analyst for DXC. So I do the finance support for the large accounts that provide computer services to other companies through DXC…They support application support, application development, business processing services as well as the hardware and mainframe and mid-range and large computer, as well as PC support.” Ryland explained.
Although Ryland auditorium manager, that doesn’t mean he is always the one doing the lights and sound, it’s also students.
“For the high school, they’re recruited by the drama club, and so then I find ones that I know seem to really enjoy it and work well, and I invite them to do outside ones and at the middle school, we have two shows we do there every year, the musical for the PTA and the rapid Run Review, and we have kids that apply for the job, and then from there, we pick kids and then some of the ones that seem to really enjoy it and do an excellent job. I recruit them for other outside shows. So most of it’s just directly recruiting through the processes in the school, and then I can pick some more to do work for me outside.” Ryland stated.
Working with the students and teaching them how to use the technology is Ryland’s favorite thing about his job. An Oak Hills High School Junior, Giana Salvaggio, is one of these students. Salvaggio has worked with Ryland since her freshman year at Oak Hills.
“My sister Layla, she has done crew since sophomore year, and in my freshman year I joined because she did it.” Salvaggio said.
Since joining crew her freshmen year, Salvaggio has done four shows including, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Drowsy Chaperone’, ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ and ‘Les Misérables’. For her sophomore year, Salvaggio was taught to do sound effects by Ryland for ‘Moon over Buffalo’ and’ Les Misérables.’
While watching a play or musical, some people wouldn’t think about the difference the lights or sound might have on a performance. But, without having the lights on stage the scenery of the stage would be completely different. If there is no sound, no one would hear the performers, instruments in the pit, or the music. Without the people behind the scenes, there wouldn’t be a show.
