This is Part 1 in our 3-Part Through These Halls series on the Schaper siblings- senior Ryan, junior Andrew and freshman Emily.  All three are in the elite Symphonic Band together, and have individual stories to be told.  Check back next Wednesday for Part 2!

Over the past summer, senior Ryan Schaper worked backstage of Six Flags, mixing sound for shows.

“Every day, I would go in, and I would set up all the microphones, turn the system on, make sure that everyone had batteries in the mikes and that they were all working, and then make sure all of those were set up, and I would help if they were any other backstage stuff that needed to be done,” Schaper said. He also would start up the automated lighting and fix the lighting board if needed.

He was able to do more for Six Flags during the annual Fright Fest, in which Schaper was put on a rotation and worked backstage along with sound.

“I got to move flies and work with dry ice and fog and different, cool stuff like that,” Schaper said.

The fly system is a set of ropes and pulleys that allows the backstage crew to bring in and out large scenery drops.

Schaper has also been able to apply his skills to the Lafayette Theatre Company (LTC). He has been Assistant Sound Designer in both Midsummer’s Night Dream and The Sound of Music last year for Lafayette. Schaper was also the main Sound Designer for Fools and he is assisting in sound and lighting design for the upcoming LHS production Shrek: The Musical.

He hopes to go to college majoring in Technical Theater.

Due to his continuous work in theater the past couple years in order to build a portfolio for college,  Schaper has not been able to as much with his oboe or Symphonic Band. However, he will be doing a quintet with his two siblings, Andrew and Emily Schaper.

“Since my brother, my sister and I are all in the same class,  together now, we’re going to do a woodwind quintet, which has oboe, french horn, bassoon, a clarinet and a flute,” Schaper said.