“I’m a genius if this works” yells one of the theater tech students inside the Bakersfield College theater. The crew attempts to lift an awning 12 feet high using a quick pulley system and their own strength.

As the awning is lifted, a slim part of the frame breaks causing the crew to lower the set piece back down and rapidly fix the damaged frame.

While actors rehearse learning their lines and stage movements for the upcoming show, there is another group at work that will not receive applause when they are done: the techs. Technicians have been the laborers behind the scenes that go unrecognized in the world of entertainment.

Using an array of talents, they struggle with fierce deadlines, limited resources and a demanding cast, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Robert Hourigan, professional consultant of technical theater, has been helping supervise the theater tech program at Bakersfield College.

“This is my second year working at BC,” said Hourigan. “I try to get anyone who is willing to work.”

The crew consists of a group of colorful characters that make the class a show in its own. Misty Ivester volunteered her time, even though she is not in the class. Joe Krauter had been doing tech work for more than 10 years and has become a “jack of all trades” in the theater.

“You get a great stress high doing it,” Krauter said.

“Performing doesn’t have that kind of pressure. Things here are always changing, and there is always something to do.”

Most of the crew majors in technical theater and have found their work to be more rewarding than what could be done on stage. Learning everything from set and light design to carpentry and outlining complex situations, the crew never sees a dull moment.

Last year, Hourigan was instructed to strike down the entire set, including seating, and set it up in the outdoor theater while dealing with an outside concert that was coming in to perform on the same stage.

After both shows ran, he was instructed to put as much of the set back where it originally was.

Hourigan worked like an army recruiter trying to get anyone to come and help out.

“It’s exhausting work,” Hourigan said.

“You work nights and weekends and do whatever you can to get the job done.”

The crew works with a very limited budget, which makes their work all the more problematic. Set pieces that are years old are reconstructed, and every last scrap is used to its fullest in order to build the set the director wants. Hourigan usually gets a free range to design the set as he wants while working with specific instructions. He gets input from the entire crew on how to make everything work.

“It’s more rewarding,” stage manager Asheton Bahr said.

“The set attributes to the show, and if the set is crap, then the show is crap.”

Their biggest goal is to make everything work, somehow. All in all, their nicks and bruises pay off and even they develop stage fright on opening night. Sometimes the set is finished just minutes before the house opens and the curtain rises. While working on the set of the upcoming BC show, “Rashomon,” the crew was given about two weeks to pull everything together.

“Honestly, I love it,” Hourigan said.

“There is nothing like working in live theater. There is nothing like an opening night and seeing everything come together.”