Mountain View Drama Club Senior Spotlight

11/5/2025

By Pat Wagner
KINGSLEY — Tiny in stature and softspoken, Megan Bills is a powerhouse of organization and
management. She has to be. She is the stage manager for Hercules and in that role she must know the entire play backwards and forwards to be ready for any surprises and she must silently and efficiently manage a stage crew of 13 other students.
To begin this process, Bills starts the first day taking notes while sitting in on the play’s initial readings. The stage crew usually isn’t called to rehearsals until four weeks before the opening and this is where Bill’s skills begin to shine.
Manager-wise beyond her years, Bill first establishes a rapport with her crew by allowing them to choose what part of the stage they want to work with. She then integrates everyone by showing them everything they need to know backstage from where the stage will be marked for props and scenery, where props will be placed backstage for easy access and how the entrances and exits of the actors will be handled.
For the next few weeks until the show opens, Bill will sit in on all rehearsals taking notes on any changes that are being made and will work very closely with the director about her vision for the play’s production.
During the play, Bill will oversee everything going on backstage and maintain order
and silence through a series of hand signals she has developed to communicate with
her stage crew.
Bill has been working on stage crews since fifth grade. She was a backup singer in “Beauty and the Beast” but decided her real love was working backstage. In seventh grade, she became stage manager for the musical Newsies. She remembers that was a difficult play to work because of the number of props involved and heavy tables had to be moved.
She also remembers a lost prop that had to be replaced during “The Lightning Thief.” A
glittery lightening bolt couldn’t be found and Bill had to dash into the prop and find
something that would work in the scene.
Her director, Beth Sedlak, said Bill can best be described by Shakespeare: “And though she be
but little, she is fierce!” Sedlak added, “Megan can truly do anything when it comes to drama. She should never be underestimated and I know she will be successful wherever her path takes her.” Come see “Hercules” at Mountain View High School, Nov. 14-16.