The Lied Center technical crew poses for a portrait before the final showing of Rock Chalk Revue. The crew ensures the show goes on — no matter what. The technical crew handles lighting, audio, set-changing and a multitude of other tasks that make shows go smoothly.

Behind the scenes at the Lied Center is a busy world. Working on the crew, producing high-quality performances and making them look great is a complex job.

The key is to keep things running well while being seen as little as possible.

For Ann and Andy Hause, technical director and associate technical director for Kansas University’s Lied Center, this never-ending series of shows is more a lifestyle than a job. Both have been doing this work since before college and their youthful interests have blossomed into a passion.

“My parents used to take me to a few shows and I wouldn’t pay attention to the stage,” Andy says. “I’d pay attention to the lighting and wonder where the sound was coming from. As a high school student, I had permission from my folks to be out past 10 p.m., because a lot of the shows didn’t end until late. I was up much later than my friends doing cool stuff. It snowballed from there.”

Ann adds, “When I was in high school, I stopped being interested in acting, but still wanted to be in theater. In college, I picked up a job doing a similar position to what we do here. I liked it so much, I switched my major.”

Both Hauses say running a modern college performing arts center is a lot of work, though the job is rewarding — mainly due to the students they work with daily.

“They’re good at what they do,” Andy says. “We’ve never had a student that has bored us. We get to engage them, we get to be their mentors. We give them tips on how we survived back when we had classes.”

Student employee Jakob Sommerfield, a KU senior, says the feeling is mutual.

“They’re very thorough with instructions. We have a lot of new people who come in, and they take about a week to go over everything with them,” Sommerfield said. “They’re very adapting.”

Sommerfield says working crew at the center is demanding but rewarding.

“Our biggest shows, they’ll come in about 8 a.m. We open the trucks with a crew of 50 to 60 people. We take everything off the trucks. We work for the road crew for a day, to guide us, so we know what to do. Then we spend from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. setting up. Sometimes we’ll go all the way until 7 for a 7:30 show. Lots of times, we don’t get out until 11 or 12.”

But he loves the job. “It’s very rewarding I enjoy working those long days. I’m sure some people don’t, but I really love my job. We meet lots of interesting people.”

Student employee and KU junior Laura Sather says the Lied Center is the most rewarding job she’s had because of the people she works with.

“I think if I were working at any other theater it wouldn’t be nearly as fun,” she says. “It’s because of the atmosphere Ann and Andy create. It feels like a family when you walk in.

“There’s such a camaraderie in the crew that it doesn’t feel like a hierarchy, it feels like everyone’s on the same page.

“I love it here,” she continued. “I love Ann and Andy. They’re a riot. I think, once I get out of college, I’m not going to find bosses as awesome as they are.”