Senior Medha Karumuri is dedicated to excellence in the field of tech theater and consistently pursues new opportunities to further enhance her ability.  In her time with Rock Ridge Performing Arts (RRPA), she has  taken part in numerous shows, including “Rent,” “Frozen,” “Treasure Island,” and many more with positions including “Charge Artist,” “Assistant Scenic Designer,” and “Front of House Designer.” For her upcoming year at Purdue University, she planned to get more involved in tech theater if she gets a chance. 

Q: What are some of your proudest moments throughout high school?

A: One of my proudest moments [in high school] was when I worked on research in the show “Rent” as in tech theater, where I was in charge of a large graffiti piece for the show. This was the first time I forced myself to really go outside of my comfort zone. The process of creating the piece itself was a proud accomplishment for me. Another moment was when I did  research which was about the AIDs crisis and the history of artistic movements in late 1970’s New York, which was the setting of the show. This research was special to me because I was able to transfer the research skills I had learned from debate into a completely different subject. This moment was the first time where I truly felt like I was creating and not copying and designing it. A recent delightful moment was my designs for the ‘Front of House’ section in frozen. I had spent a lot of time on it and was extremely proud of it when I finished it. 

A: Each year, I picked different clubs until I found a place where I could actually express my talents, which was tech theater. It was the place where I met people who designed brilliant things and were really the core of the program. I loved their environment, where people [really enjoy it] and [are] passionate about it. 

Q: What was the one thing you really liked about tech theater? 

A: There were so many things that I enjoyed, but one thing I really liked about tech theater is that there is so much creativity on the stage. When it comes to set designs and building, there is a huge amount of engineering involved,and that was where I kind of finally found my sweet spot. I can not only do designing, but also use math, calculus, and geometry — the perfect duo I was looking for was math and design. 

Q: How hard was it to keep up with academics and tech theater in senior year?

A: Keeping up with tech theater and academics was actually hard, and sometimes I would end up in school till 11 p.m. But I was very clear about my availability. Whenever I was assigned to a project, I would always ask myself, “Do I have time for this, can I do this?” Because many people will be dependent on your research, you can’t just back out.

Q: Which show/project was your favorite one?

A: I have worked on many projects including “Treasure Island,” “Rent,” “Frozen,” and many more. My favorite show was “Treasure Island.” It was such a classic, [it was] really cool to see it come to life. The design team literally ate the stage, they built the whole ship with two floors. 

Q: What did you accomplish in tech theater? 

A: With tech theater, I not only learned about design, but it also helped me to boost my personal growth among peers. I am definitely very proud of what I accomplished this year, especially with how much confidence I have gained. It really helped me to come out of my bubble and not be as afraid. 

Q: Any advice for upcoming classes? 

A: Do what you enjoy, and don’t sweat it, because if you enjoy something you naturally want to spend more time on that and you naturally get whatever recognition you are seeking for it or whatever expression you are learning. Think a lot about building experience and not just what looks good on a resume, or college. Because if you care about that, then I think things will come your way.