Theater head Moss Conant describes the ins and out of bringing shows to life

It takes a team of resourceful people to execute a great theater production, and ARHS has many students excited to lead the charge.

ARHS senior Moss Conant is a props master for the Theater Company, and they are one of the most resourceful people on the team, able to find useful objects at the dump or by scouting other various locations that hold things that make plays and musicals come alive. 

Conant said there are many other theater leaders at the school, each with different specialties. “We split up and divide, from sound to light to working on cues to costumes,” they said, meeting from Monday through Thursday.

The other leaders include: Rio Grant-Giraud and George Scanlan-Emigh, who are both directors for build; Abby Garland-Frank and Quynh Ly, who are the stage managers; Stella Stroud, the prop master who works with Conant; Rex Hanneke, Emma Learned-Miller, and Alessandro Phelps, the lighting heads; Arlyn Reiken, the art head, Rowan Howe, the sound head; and Anika Theis and Susanna Wolf, the costuming heads.

Conant’s mission is to “inspire creativity and bring people together” through theater. They said they have learned skills involving “working with others” and are proud of finding so many useful props “on a budget.” 

Most recently, they made a lot of the props for the last play, Radium Girls, including a jawbone for a medical scene. This was their favorite show from high school so far.

Conant is also excited about future shows. “I will be props master for Alice By Heart, the musical, and the Student Writtens if they need help,” they said.

One of the biggest things is they’ve learned from Performing Arts Department Head John Bechtold is “how to approach creativity as a team.” When asked to describe the relationship between actors, directors, Conant said, “We are taking steps to be part of a team that is working towards bigger performances.”

One reason they love theater is that they see it as “an important part of our community.”

“It creates a world,” they said, “[a world] brought by so many people to make it come together.”

When Conant moves on to college next year, they will miss “the people from theater] and the ability to create something that people want to see.”

In college, they plan to study microbiology, and may do theater, but they are not sure yet. “I’ll [probably] check it out if I have time,” they said.