Whirling saws slice through plank after plank of wood, drills buzz for hours on end, set pieces stacked with props scattered. The building continues. Failure. Broken again. Fixed it. Success.

James Bowie High School’s The Who’s Tommy tech crew had a rocky rise to success this year with missing orders to numerous breaks and re-do’s to the set, with an ultimately stellar outcome. The students and directors suffered through a lot of stress throughout the process of the musical.

“This is probably one of the most stressful and crazy shows I’ve ever been a part of,” sophomore prop crew member Emma Thomas said. “But the payoff has been amazing.”

Usually with Bowie productions, the Theatre Tech classes and tech crew help build set pieces to pull the show together. In the making of Tommy, the directors ordered a bridge and waited for weeks, only for the bridge to never arrive.

“The bridge was the biggest challenge,” sophomore stage manager Elizabeth Tiedt said. “Most numbers were blocked around the bridge and we had to re-stage half the show the day of opening night.”

The frustration of the bridge and other pieces caused a lot of tension between technicians.

“We waited last minute for a lot of things that did not happen and that meant that we ended up making a good show, but one that could’ve gone better,” sophomore light manager Julia Cabrera said. “Because of delays, people got really stressed out and it was hard to work together.”

Through the direction of senior tech director Matthew Humphrey, the technicians eventually fixed the bridge situation by all coming together and helping the directors find an alternative opening night by building a huge platform.

“I knew that everyone was on the brink of giving up. There seemed to be no options for construction at that point because we had tried everything,” Thomas said. “Then I felt more of a responsibility because Humphrey asked me to be one of the people to come in the next day and build the new set.”

Many technicians were part of the making of Tommy. This led to a lot of before and after school hours that took a toll on many techs.

“During my lunches and off periods I met with the directors and other techs to figure out cues,” stage manager Olivia Roberts said. “I stayed up way too late to edit my cues, re-watching performances, and making notes for myself and the other technicians.”

Director Kalyn Holloway knew the students could handle the work though.

“I think we have a good group of students we knew would pull it together,” Holloway said.

The technicians still found fun in the workings of Tommy and don’t regret all the time they put into it according to Thomas.

“The best part of the musical for me is the end of the show, whenever I can see the techs on the other side of the stage dancing as hard as I am,” Thomas said.

While the directors pushed the students hard, they were also the inspiration that kept the technicians motivated from start to finish.

“The directors are stressed during the show, but I feel like the stress brings us closer together,” Tiedt said. “After the show, I feel closer to them and like I understand them more.”

Looking past their frustrations and issues along the way, the technicians are proud of their work and the results it produced for the whole school to see.

“Theatre in general is a great way to feel like a part of something bigger than yourself,” Cabrera said. “The musical especially; it forces you to work with new people and learn new things. It makes me feel at home.”