The UHS Drama Department’s International Thespian Society (ITS) Board enjoys often hosting small events for students to come and enjoy! When many think of theater, the only people that come to mind are the actors on the stage but a lot of the work comes from the backstage crew! Thus enter, Crew Olympics!
Crew Olympics was an event first hosted in May 2023. The event was created in collaboration between the then Stage Manager Maggie Meredith (Class of 2023), Assistant Stage Manager Sumedha Bhat (Class of 2023), Costume Manager Alyssa Tyler (Class of 2024), and Props Manager Caitlyn Sigler (Class of 2023). The event was also facilitated due to Meredith and Bhat being members of the ITS student board at the time, with Meredith being one of the board’s Co-Presidents.
While the event was not hosted the following year due to a busier than usual drama schedule, this year it has come back. The event this year was planned by ITS Secretary Jason Holman (Class of 2025) one of the co-stage managers at the department this year. The event includes a series of crew related competitions that pairs faced off against each other to see who would come out on top.
Each event was run by a different crew senior: a painting event was run by Chris Oh (Class of 2025), a costuming event was run by Maverick Brueker (Class of 2025), a Props sorting event by Maggie Mckay (Class of 2025), and a run crew inspired race run by Stage Manager Brooke Dress (Class of 2025).
Everyone at the event had an amazing time, and there was a lot of passion put behind winning for many. Oh commenting on his event said that, “The louder they screamed the more fun I knew they were having.”
With the success of the event they are hoping this will solidify Crew Olympics as an annual event hosted by the ITS board.
