The hum of the audience dies down as spotlights hit the sets, and the first young actresses walk onto the stage. Seniors Rhiannon Marquis and Reace Rinehart sit with smiling faces among the crowd, glancing down at their cameras in hand. 

Marquis and Rinehart spent a week in March as interns for Poway Onstage at the Poway Center of Performing Arts. Each day they recorded the rehearsals and interviewed actors, gathering footage for a video showing the week-long, annual Missoula Youth Theater Camp.

The production was cast, rehearsed, and performed for audiences in just one week. The short timeline made the seniors’ week fast-paced and active.

“It was great practicing my camera skills. We had to constantly be running around setting up tripods and cameras and switching lenses to get the best shot,” Rinehart said.

Marquis found herself constantly learning and growing in her creative skills. “I got to use my creative input by applying different techniques, movements, and ideas throughout shooting the whole production,” Marquis said.

Although most of their time was spent with just the two of them, they had plenty of interaction with the young actors in the play.

“My favorite part of the week was getting to work with all the kids. They were so cute and excited that we were documenting the whole process, and excited to see what the video looks like when we finish it,” Rinehart said.

By the end of the week, Marquis and Rinehart felt tired but accomplished. After spending over 15 hours filming the production, they were confident about the footage had to make the final video.

“I love post-production, so now I’m excited to go through all our footage, find the best sound scores, and edit together an amazing final product,” Rinehart said. 

As they begin the editing process to put the video together, Marquis and Rinehart are happy to have this experience.

“It was inspiring to watch everyone be so caring and involved in just a short amount of time,” Marquis said.