Heading into the final weekend of their 12-show run, the cast of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” continues to captivate Moorpark College audiences with standout performances from Hugh Wheeler’s iconic thriller.

While the spring musical largely features the actors from the Theatre Arts department, a dedicated team of over one hundred students have contributed to the success of the production from behind the scenes.

Director John Loprieno has overseen the play’s collaborative efforts from several Moorpark College departments including instrumental music, dance, choral & vocal and technical theatre programs and shared the practical experience students gain while navigating these joint productions.

“When we do a big musical like this, it’s like all of our classes, and probably over 200 students have hands on the set,” Loprieno said. “It’s a great opportunity for our students to understand that this is what it’s like in the industry.”

The innovative set design of “Sweeney Todd” perfectly represents the multitude of time logged by technical theatre students. Designed by professor Brian Kohler, the multi-story, dynamic set further immerses the audience into the streets of Victorian-era London with several rotating structures like Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop and Todd’s barber shop.

The student responsible for ensuring the production runs smoothly is Stage Manager Amy Jiménez, a fourth-year technical theatre student.

As the lead “conductor” of the production, Jiménez wears many hats backstage, as she is responsible for communicating with all technical teams, including lighting, sound, costumers and the special effects team. She also works alongside the play’s four student assistant directors to delegate tasks to each department.

Jiménez shared praise for her group’s hardworking nature, as stagecraft students endure a fast-paced professional environment in the weeks leading up to the production.

“We’re running around like our hair’s on fire, because the actors, they have two months to get into rehearsal mode and to be learning their songs and stuff,” Jimenez explained. “My tech group comes in and they have two weeks to learn all the set changes and to learn all the lighting.”

The process of creating the towering set required intense physical activity from all stagecraft members. Raquel Kanalz, a second-year Moorpark College student, spoke about the responsibilities she held as part of the technical crew behind the scenes of the production.

“Physically it’s very scary because I’m not exactly the tallest person or the strongest person, but once they start moving, they move fast and they’re heavy,” Kanalz noted. “But it’s a lot of pressure because a lot of the times if you mess up you can hit buildings and it’s loud, so everyone knows, but I overall really enjoy it, definitely getting my workout in.”

Adding another level of realism to these sets are handcrafted props created by members of the scenic crew.

Second-year Theatre Arts student Lucía Salazar-Davidson is the assistant prop master responsible for handling and creating numerous props for “Sweeney Todd.” The work Salazar-Davidson felt proudest of is the 48 pieces of dishware made on-site at the Moorpark College ceramics lab.

“I made two sets, and they’re both historically accurate Victorian plates,” Salazar-Davidson shared. “I did a bunch of research and found transfers that were Victorian design, and the plates are sort of pie plates as they’ve got a crimped edge like the way a pie does.”

In addition to the dishware, the scenic crew produced and embellished a variety of props with hand-painted Eastern European folk art. Members also whittled wooden knitting needles and stitched historically accurate embroidery hoops.

The actors of “Sweeney Todd” also rely on handmade costumes, dramatic makeup looks and wigs to seamlessly transform into their characters for every show.

Kristen Fernandez, a fourth-year costuming student, is one of 17 costuming students responsible for designing and constructing pieces for the entire ensemble. Under the direction of professor Haleh Risdana, the team was encouraged to heavily research the Victorian era to ensure that all costumes were historically accurate.

“We do all the historical research. Actually, this time, a lot of the costuming students, they each took a little part, they researched shoes or they researched aprons or specific things for the time period, which is cool. We haven’t done that before,” Fernandez shared. “A lot of research goes along with also picking what time period we want to do it because it’s vague, Victorian era.”

After establishing their time period of the 1840s, the class used a mood board and book to convey the play’s overall theme. Marina Wagner, a second-year costuming student, further shared her experience navigating this collaborative process.

“She [Risdana] had put this beautiful book together after we all did our independent research on the era and the specific time period with clothing, underwear and everything, all down to the fabric,” Wagner said. “So then each person kind of got to choose what they wanted to work on.”

Given the play’s large ensemble, Wagner also shared the difficulties that come with managing apparel and assisting with quick changes off-stage.

“Sweeney Todd is a gigantic performance with a lot of people to keep track of,” Wagner explained. “So that’s probably been the hardest part; just the vast amounts of people and costumes that need to be kept track of.”

Stephen Sondheim’s chilling score is brought to life with live accompaniment from the orchestra in the pit. Led by Conductor David Watkins and Student Conductor Hunter Klotz, the 21-piece ensemble has wowed audiences with their renditions of the musical’s 35 songs in total.

Matt Felsen, a third-year music student at Moorpark College, discussed the benefits of working with other musicians within the pit orchestra.

“I really like it, and I hope to continue,” Felsen said. “It’s good for building musicianship skills, because in addition to the playing, you have to be able to adjust on the fly and follow cues, so that’s a big help in my career.”

Time is running out to see all these specialized departments in action in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at Moorpark College.

Tickets for the show are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online through the Moorpark College PAC Box Office to save 20%.