Many Covenant students have favorite professors, as is evident in the thundering cheers during faculty chapel lectures. Other members of the Covenant staff (such people in Student Development, Safety and Security, or Facilities), while less public faces of the college, are no less loved. While professors may be the actors on the college’s stage, those who work behind the scenes keep the college running smoothly.
Casey Fletcher, the theatre department’s newly appointed master carpenter, is one such staff member.
“[Last year] I saw an ad that said [Covenant was] looking for a Master Carpenter for the Theatre department, and I have a theater background and a carpentry background so I decided to try that out.”
This past fall was not the first time Fletcher had heard of Covenant. After graduating from Messiah College in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2015, Fletcher moved to Tennessee, where he began working in furniture, cabinetry, and fabrication. In 2018, previous Covenant art professor and fellow Messiah graduate Raymond Padròn talked to Fletcher about potentially hosting an art show at Covenant, an offer which Fletcher readily accepted.
“Through conversations with Ray Padròn and Jeff Morton, the three of us discussed having some of my work put on display in the library gallery. I’d had some old pieces that I had kind of refurbished and some old pieces that were gone and that I rebuilt along with one completely new piece. So altogether there was a painting, three drawings, and two sculptures and it was a ton of fun.”
Titled “New and Resurrected Work,” the art show gave Fletcher the chance to re-engage with his love for sculpting, a subject he majored in at Messiah. In addition, Fletcher had the opportunity to connect with Covenant students over a shared love of art.
“The Covenant students I met during my artist talk at my art show were pretty bright and kind, but also critical, asking tough, insightful questions about my work. [When I saw the job opening at Covenant,] I had a feeling that the students, staff, and faculty I would work with would be kind and operating under a Christian worldview and fair. I figured they wouldn’t just be easy to work with, but open and driven.”
Since accepting Covenant’s Master Carpenter position last fall, Fletcher has already worked two shows (“Silent Sky” and “Tartuffe”) and is currently making preparations for a third: the long-awaited “The Sound of Music.”
“It’s a pretty ambitious set [that we’re working on for “The Sound of Music”]. Being a musical with a bunch of scenes and choreography, we’re having to build not just more sets than our previous two shows, but sets that can be stood on or climbed on or jumped through.”
In contrast to this year’s previous Covenant shows, “The Sound of Music,” complete with an orchestra and a wide array of sets, will be held in the chapel auditorium rather than Sanderson 215.
“One of the tricky things is needing to build large sets for the chapel, but then designing them so they can fit through the chapel doors. The trick is to build each piece so that it can be broken down or built in multiple pieces or collapsible, which is a fun challenge.”
Despite the challenges, Fletcher says he enjoys the chance to exercise his problem-solving creativity and looks forward to seeing the show come together while having his hard work pay off.
“Getting to see the fruits of our labor is always a big reward, just in going to a show and seeing actors work with the set and seeing how it’s accommodating their needs. Crowd reactions are especially pleasing, like when a set piece is revealed or when someone remarks on some part of the set afterward.”
Until the show opens, however, Fletcher and his team of work study students will continue to prepare one set-piece at a time, eagerly awaiting opening night, when their work behind the scenes will go on display.
Note: For those interested in attending “The Sound of Music”—be it for the sets, the costumes, the music, or the actors (or all of the above)—tickets are now on sale. Show dates are March 27-28 and April 2-4. For more details or to reserve tickets, contact the box office at boxoffice@covenant.edu.