Sophomore Kendrick Lee, student sound engineer, is a crucial part of any production held at South, running sound for various shows, productions, and performances, Lee said.

Technical Crew, nicknamed “Tech Crew”, is an extension of Stage Crew, which runs lights, props, backstage, and in Lee’s case, sound during performances. Lee’s job mainly involves the audio console, a machine with multiple knobs that sets the volume of the microphones on stage. Lee and Auditorium Manager Rich Winship agree that this is no easy task. However, Lee believes the demanding work is worth seeing the show succeed, he said.

“I’ve invested so much time into [the sound].” Lee said, “I want to help people out and see my work come to fruition.”

Ever since middle school, Lee has been involved in Stage Crew, aiding in construction and decoration of the set and overseeing certain sound aspects backstage, Lee explained. Lee’s passion for sound permitted him to rise through the ranks of stage crew quickly, joining Technical Crew this year, Lee said.

Winship selects students for Tech Crew on attendance, seniority, and skill level. He admitted he enjoys challenging the students in Tech Crew with jobs they may not already be familiar with to help them learn. However, this was not the case with Lee when he first started, as he was familiar with sound, Winship pointed out.

“[Lee] came in with a very strong passion for sound, and I was more than happy to let him fulfill his love for sound through his work on Technical Crew,” Winship said.

Meeting different people while working large productions and interacting with different directors are Lee’s favorite part about Tech Crew. Lee likes meeting many new people and teachers while hearing them onstage.

“[Being on Technical Crew] is really unique because you have such a good community [around you] while doing your job,” Lee said.