260 staff keep Mörbisch festival performances running

About 260 people work behind the scenes of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch, where the musical “A Cage Full of Fools” premiered four weeks ago, ORF reported. The teams supporting the performances are now working closely together.

On every performance day, the group meets at around 5.30 p.m. “By early August, everything really starts to run smoothly. The performers understand one another and everyone knows their role,” said Dietmar Posteiner, managing director of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch.

The make-up and costume departments face particular demands because several men must be transformed visually into women for the production. “The more shows we have, the better we work. By now, we can do it in our sleep,” make-up artist Lou Matznetter said.

The roughly 20 stage technicians also have a demanding job. The stage is constantly changing and rotates 23 times during each performance. “It is always hectic because we have a very fast-paced production with many scene changes,” said Bernhard Weber-Rosenbüchler, head of stage technology.

Sound technicians remain under pressure until the end. “If a microphone has a problem, that is when it is most stressful for us,” sound technician Dietmar Glogner said. When everything works, however, the audience notices none of the activity behind the scenes.