From “Smokey Joe’s Café” to this weekend’s production, “The Light in the Piazza,” the School of Performing Arts has been busy this semester, and many behind the scenes workers helped make the production complete.

Between the stage crew, costume designers, lighting techs and makeup artists, there are many behind-the-scenes factors involved.  

“The Light in the Piazza” is a romantic comedy set in 1950s Italy. The story is about two American ladies, Margaret and Clara, who travel to Florence. On the trip, Clara and Fabrizio meet and fall in love. Amongst the chaos of parental and cultural problems, the two must find the means to stay together. The opera will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Miller Concert Hall.

Cate Wieck, assistant professor of costume design, has been designing and working with collegiate musicals for 12 years.

As someone heavily involved in back-stage production, she knows how to bring a character to life. Wieck said that simple gestures, like loosening a tie, can change the meaning of the scene and how the character feels.

Wieck designed costumes for both “Smokey Joe’s Café” and “The Light in the Piazza.” Although both musicals are set in the ’50s, the culture and style of the musical changes the wardrobe, as well.

“Both shows needed to have the 1950s silhouette,” Wieck said. “The difference between the two was ‘Smokey Joe’s’ was more about production numbers and flash while ‘Light in the Piazza’ is set in Italy, so it’s fun and challenging to show the difference between American and Italian styles.”

Since “The Light in the Piazza” has both cultures featured in the production, Wieck and the costume design team had to make sure the characters had distinct cultural looks.

“I did a fitting with the actor playing Frabizio, who is the young adult male lead, and that was a challenge to show how the character went from being young and carefree to a grown-up, which we talked about in the fitting,” Wieck said. “I first put him in a patterned check shirt and he looked so American so I switched the shirt to a solid and he looked so much more sophisticated.”

Even simple style changes can be made to create the perfect look needed for each musical. From costuming to set design, there are many different elements that go into creating the musical. Settings are necessary in the musical so the audience has an idea of where the characters are. Sometimes the sets can be simple or as intricate as creating a stained glass window, which was necessary for “The Light in the Piazza.”

“Teaching these students how to help create the components that go into a musical is what I enjoy,” Wieck said. “It’s a lot more involved than people realize, and being able to see students contribute their own ideas to costuming and take leadership is always great.”