The Urinetown musical will be brought to life by more than just the actors; two other Granite Bay High School communities have been working behind the scenes to put the show on the road.

Showings of Urinetown will begin on Thursday, March 27. As the first show approaches, the AP Art and Construction Tech classes are combining forces with the Drama program to create a unique set which presents new challenges to students.

“We’ve been asked to build some things that I have no experience building,” Ryan Beidler, the Construction Technology teacher, said. “So you jump into it, and you hopefully go to completion and try to do a good job.”

The Construction students have worked to build a large sewer tube with a 12-foot radius, a gargantuan task in more ways than one.

“A lot of the experimentation has to do with texture and creating an environment that looks grimy,” Sarah Lam, the AP Art teacher, said. “There’s copper pipes, but they’re copper pipes that are 50 to 100 years old. So what does that look like?” 

The copper pipes and sewer tubes all help bring to life the plot of Urinetown in which the citizens must pay to…well, urinate. Principal Greg Sloan and Assistant Principal John Pichon made an appearance on the Bulletin to inform students that Urine Good Company will be taking over urination services on campus. 

Creating the dystopian vibes on stage is a different and more open experience than what art students experience in their day to day.

“I think it’s actually really fun to get away from the studio, which is kind of a tight, enclosed space, and to work in an open space with a lot more physical stuff going on,” Lam said. “We’re jumping on ladders and we’re reaching up with a roller and an extension, and we’re painting under tunnels and climbing things.”

One AP Art student, Kate Fukuda, had the opportunity to be lifted up on a crane while painting the set.

“Oh my God that was so sick,” Fukuda said.

Several art students are participating in the show, and work behind the scenes and in the scenes. 

“We have to kind of figure it out on our own, in a way,” Fukuda said. “And [Lam] will have us make sure we step back to look at what we’re doing and then give feedback on ourselves.”