Mike Helms, professor of theatre arts in Appalachian State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, is bringing his vast knowledge of set and lighting design to the School of Music’s upcoming opera, “The Magic Flute,” which runs April 6-9 in Rosen Concert Hall on campus. Helms, who has taught at Appalachian for eight years, has worked as a professional set and lighting designer, technical director, sound engineer and educator over the course of his career.
This isn’t the first time the School of Music has sought Helms’ expertise. He’s designed several sets for collaborative performances over the years, including three specifically for Rosen, and he’s accustomed to the challenges that come with designing for various spaces.
“Rosen is really not a theatre and lacks the types of equipment needed to produce a full-size opera,” he said. “No matter what you do for the stage, there remains a giant pipe organ that just won’t go away. It requires a bit of cleverness in making the space feel as much like the environment for the opera as possible.”
Helms is no stranger to thinking outside the box, both when it comes to design and in his own life. An aspiring vocalist whose parents wanted him to pursue architecture, he found his way to scenic design.
“I loved to draw and was fairly good at math, so becoming a scenic designer seemed like a way I could sort of do the architect thing yet stay very involved in the theatre,” he recalled.
As an educator as well as a professional designer, he’s also learned to work around the resource and skill constraints that often come with educational theatre.
“I’ve worked on some professional productions where the solution to a problem was to throw more money, personnel and resources at it in order to solve the problem,” he recalled. “When I work with students, I do a good deal of mentoring them through the production process, which I enjoy. We have to be resourceful and find creative solutions to any issues we encounter, and it’s all about the fact that this is a learning experience for them.”
Since Appalachian places a heavy emphasis on sustainability, Helms also gets creative with materials, repurposing what he can from production to production. What can’t be reused again is torn apart for the lumber, screws and any other material that might be useful in the future. The goal is to throw away as little as possible.
In addition to the unique aspects of educational theatre, Helms enjoys the collaborative nature of Appalachian’s faculty and staff, the opportunity to begin new projects regularly, and the challenge of designing scenery, lighting and projection/animation.
“Every five weeks or so, I get to start a new creative endeavor, which is always exciting,” he remarked. “Meeting with directors and other designers and developing a design concept for a production is something I find intellectually stimulating.”
To learn more about “The Magic Flute,” or to purchase tickets, visit music.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Theatre and Dance
The Department of Theatre and Dance is one of seven departments housed in Appalachian’s College of Fine and Applied Arts. Its mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community and the region.
About the Hayes School of Music
The Hayes School of Music prepares young musicians for professional lives as performers, composers, music educators, music therapists, conductors and music industry professionals, ensuring the next generation of musical leadership for the state, region and nation. Noted for quality instruction by national and internationally recognized faculty musicians, the school offers four undergraduate degree programs and three graduate-level programs.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 18,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
Mike Helms
Helms is pictured here on the set of “Silence” in Appalachian’s Valborg Theatre during the scenic painting part of the design process. The show was produced by the university’s Department of Theatre and Dance in February 2017. Photo by Lynn Willis