'Page to the Stage' goes behind scenes at Nebraska Rep

Ben Weber | Courtesy

A student operates a turtle puppet during a Feb. 22 dress rehearsal for "The Way to the Way." The production plays Feb. 23 to March 6 in the Temple Building.

A new video series by University Communication’s Curt Bright is taking Huskers behind the scenes to learn about the work that goes into staging a Nebraska Repertory Theatre production.

“From the Page to the Stage” includes seven brief videos focused on the students, faculty, staff, alumni and professionals who are working on “The Way to the Way,” a current Rep show featured through March 6 in the Temple Building’s Howell Theatre. The production is a large-scale puppet show that explores ancient Taoist philosophy. The show was written by Andy Park, the Rep’s artistic director, and features large-scale puppets developed by Jill Hibbard, a master of fine arts alumna.

In the videos, Bright showcases the dedication of the production staff and how they developed the show — from handcrafting scale models of stage designs and developing scenes to building the puppets and creating specialized lighting effects.

Tickets to the show remain available. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25-26 and March 2-5 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 27 and March 6 in Howell Theatre, located on the first floor of the Temple Building.

The “From the Page to the Stage” series is available below or access the videos via MediaHub.

Becoming a Turtle

Rep performers physically attached themselves to puppets, bringing to life the characters in “The Way to the Way.”

From the Page to the Stage: Becoming a Turtle

Becoming a Puppet

See how actors — including University of Nebraska–Lincoln students — in the production are transformed into living puppets for “The Way to the Way.”

From the Page to the Stage: Becoming a Puppet

Setting the Stage

Get a glimpse at the work the technical crew does to create a single effect on stage in the Temple Building.

From the Page to the Stage: Setting the Stage

Making 150 Puppets

Master puppeteer Jill Hibbard, a Nebraska U alumna (Master of Fine Arts, 2020), created the large-scale puppets for the production.

From the Page to the Stage: Making 150 Puppets

Modeling to Scale

See how miniatures play a bit role in helping plan out and shape a production before it heads to a scene shop for a build.

From the Page to the Stage: Modeling to Scale

Dancing with a Lion

Learn how the Jing Mo Tong Athletic Association, a local Chinese Lion Dance group, is featured in the Rep’s production of “The Way to the Way.”

From the Page to the Stage: Dancing with a Lion

Making a Scene

Take a tour of the Rep’s scene shop, where drawings and models for a production are built to scale for the final staging of each show.

From the Page to the Stage: Making a Scene