By Kristine Pascual, April 22, 2025
Actors always receive praise and support from the audience, but behind every production is a team of designers who work to ensure the show runs as smoothly as possible.
Within Cal Poly Pomona’s latest production, “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” theater students Elisa-Belle Tremblay, Haley Rodriguez and Bernice Lopez shape the play’s heart and soul with every cue, costume and scenic detail the audience sees onstage.
Elisa-Belle Tremblay, stage manager
For Tremblay, stage managing is more than calling cues and tackling props.
Aside from the actors, Tremblay is the only person to see the play’s full journey from start to finish. As stage manager, she’s there for every single step of the way, scheduling rehearsals, navigating tech days and ensuring each performance runs smoothly as planned.
Tremblay serves as the stage manager for the “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” overseeing everything from rehearsal logistics to acting as the main liaison between the director, actors and designers. Though she initially dreamed of becoming an actor, Tremblay found her passion behind the scenes in stage management.
“The stage manager is essentially like the bridge between the actors and production team,” Tremblay said. “You’re the main communicator, so any information that I get about things like props, lighting, sound, scenic costumes, I also would communicate that to not only the actors but the director, too.”
Tremblay emphasized the importance of keeping artistic integrity from the first rehearsal up until the final bow. A veteran to the job, she has previously stage managed for “The Clean House,” “I’m Fine, I Guess,” “Office Hour” and “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
One challenge Tremblay encountered was managing the large number of props used for the current production. When they began blocking the show, Tremblay was at a conference. Typically, the assistant stage manager would step in, but neither Tremblay nor her assistant stage manager were available. Their absence created a roadblock in the process, which Tremblay described as missing out on a key relationship-building activity.
“I’ve learned a lot about how props affect actors and their movement, how it affects the show, the timing, sound and lights,” Tremblay said. “I feel like my knowledge with props has heightened and amplified during this show specifically, and I’ve learned a lot about fight moments.”
With the number of shows Tremblay has managed, she has learned that stage management isn’t as much about leadership as it is about keeping logistics. She emphasized the level of impact her energy has on the entire crew and room, particularly during high-pressure moments like tech rehearsals.
Whether it’s for troubleshooting quick changes or maintaining a positive attitude during long, grueling rehearsals, Tremblay understands she ultimately sets the tone for the cast and crew. Throughout this production, Tremblay is proud of how much she’s grown not just in skill but in her ability to lead a team with confidence and care.
“Being in this position, you have a certain relationship, a certain closeness with everyone, and I love that,” Tremblay said. “You not only get to watch actors grow with the show, but you yourself also grow with the show because you’re literally there since day one, so you build a certain attachment to the show.”
Haley Rodriguez, costume designer
Rodriguez sees costume design as more than just dressing the actors, but as an alternative way to set the tone of the play and help the audience identify the time and place of the scene.
Set in 2008 Miami, Rodriguez brought that era to life with bold textures, graphic T-shirts, flared jeans and color palettes to help the audience better understand each character’s personality and emotional journey.
To help visualize each character’s wardrobe, Rodriguez read the script several times and created a Pinterest board with images of what she visualized each character wearing. As her first production as lead costume designer, Rodriguez mainly pulled pieces from the department’s archives and also purchased clothing items off of Amazon.
“When I first read the script, it was very deep, raw and unpredictable,” Rodriguez said. “The girls in the play aren’t typical, normal girls. They’re trying to summon a spirit, so I wanted to give them a darker, teenage girl vibe.”
Rodriguez researched popular 2000s fashion trends and dug through the department’s costume storeroom to curate the perfect outfits for each character. Her goal was to authentically reflect the time period while also adding a twist based on the character who was wearing it.
In the first scene, the girls wear navy blue and white school uniforms, so Rodriguez diverted her energy toward finding the right pair of shoes to reflect each character’s individuality. Gears switch in scene two when the audience gets a better glimpse at the characters’ personalities through their outfits. Rodriguez used color, texture and style to distinguish each girl, including a symbolic touch for the character Pipe, who wears a shirt with a star symbol, a nod to the play’s ritualistic theme.
“Pipe, who went through a lot of loss and trauma, and there’s this moment where she talks about her little sister and how she’s in ballet,” Rodriguez said. “I thought it was a good idea to try to emphasize that more in her jewelry, so she wears a piece with a ballerina with pointe shoes, and she looks at it when she’s talking about her little sister.”
Rodriguez even paid attention to minor details audience members may miss, such as the character’s fingernails and accessories. To fully capture each character’s vibe, she provided specific colors for the actors to paint their nails ahead of the show, ensuring every element of their appearances aligned with their personality and the aesthetic she was striving for.
Bernice Lopez, scenic designer
Before she was a theater student, Lopez came to CPP to study architecture. However, Lopez soon realized the major didn’t align with her creative passions. After consulting with counselors and taking into account her combined love for architecture and film, she landed in theater, specifically scenic design.
Lopez works as the scenic designer for the production, collaborating with the director, designers and production manager to bring the creative vision to life. Since the fall semester, she has worked with the design team tirelessly to translate the script into a visual scene onstage, blending art with technical precision.
“It’s essential to know these characters and to be familiar with them when designing,” Lopez said. “You have to create this space that they would live in. It’s a lot of research on where this is taking place and when.”
Her first step after receiving the script was collaborating with the director to get a sense of their vision for the show. Lopez asked for key words that captured the essence of the play to which the director responded with terms including “empowerment,” “ambition,” “trouble” and “self-doubt.” From there, Lopez focused on those themes and translated those core emotions into her set design.
After reading the script at least seven times, Lopez began her design process by hand sketching various concepts before transitioning to digital renderings using an AutoCAD program. By her second semester, she shifted from designing to hands-on work by collaborating with the painters and technical director.
Throughout the school year, Lopez is in constant communication with the production team, ensuring every element perfectly aligns with the play’s story.
“I love modern plays and musicals where you can really relate to a character and the struggles that they’re going through,” Lopez said. “Being able to connect with these characters one by one and creating my own little world for them was really helpful for designing, and that’s necessary when deciding if I wanted to design the show.”
Lopez’s role goes beyond visualizing an aesthetically pleasing set. It also involves complying with safety regulations and codes. What makes this production especially meaningful to Lopez was the opportunity to weave elements of her own life into the set, which is something she hasn’t previously done. Many props used in this play were sourced from her own home including an alarm clock and scraps of fabric adding a special, personal touch to the stage.
“I’m so excited for people to see the show because the work we have done on this is definitely, in my opinion, the greatest I have seen from a show in my years at Cal Poly (Pomona),” Lopez said. “I’m so proud of everyone who has dedicated their time to this show. It really just shows our growth, especially from my first year.”
Feature images courtesy of Teresa Acosta
