Meet Lauren Petrocelli: Director of Production for Movin' On 2024

Lauren Petrocelli is the Director of Production for Movin’ On 2024. Petrocelli is currently a senior majoring in theater design and technology with an emphasis on sound design. Petrocelli is from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is also the vice president of the US Institute of Theatre Technology. She also works as a stagehand at the Bryce Jordan Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, and Schwab Auditorium.

Petrocelli joined Movin’ On during her sophomore year as a part of the production team before transitioning into the Director of Production during her junior year. She said she found Movin' On through her friend who was a previous Director of Production. 

As the Director of Production, Petrocelli leads setting up the sound and stage equipment for the festival and the events leading up to it, like Battle and Spotlight Series. 

“I was able to experience Movin’ On from behind the scenes,” Petrocelli said. “Which was pretty awesome.” 

Petrocelli currently works heavily with Clearwing Production. This is the company that brings in all of the sound, lighting, and other necessary equipment for the festival. 

She is the main point of contact for the Clearwing Production team that travels to State College for the festival. This includes holding Zoom calls with the team in order to build that connection as well as overall communication with the company in terms of how to help them with their equipment and any information they may need. 

Petrocelli also works closely with each artist’s crew to ensure they have all the production equipment they need to put on the show. She also manages her own production team in order to make sure everything runs smoothly preceding and during the concert.

“I try to make sure that my team is being utilized in an efficient way, in a way that’s helpful to Clearwing and the rest of production,” Petrocelli said. “I also try to delegate work between the rest of the Movin’ On members too because I know they’re eager to learn and help.”

Petrocelli said she has learned a lot from Movin’ On. She said her emphasis in sound design for theater and the work she does with Movin’ On often have overlapping skill sets. This taught her many new and different ways to do the work that she loves to do. 

“It’s really fun to put my skills to use outside in a concert rather than an indoor space in a theatrical show,” Petrocelli said. 

Another major thing that Petrocelli said she has gained from this experience is the industry contacts, which is important when it comes to this kind of work. 

After graduation, Petrocelli plans to work at the Fisher Center at Bard College as an A2, which is a stagehand that works closely with many of the behind the scenes necessities for a show. 

Petrocelli worked in the Fisher Center last summer as well, so she will be returning for her second summer with them. She said her dream job which is to mix on Broadway for a show. 

Petrocelli hopes to see all of the Movin’ On members more involved with the process of what production does in the future. She said that so many members “so eager” to help with production tasks, but they don’t know exactly how to yet. 

She also hopes that the future Director of Production has an even more hands-on role in the planning process with the production companies that help Movin’ On. Petrocelli also said she hopes to see the production crew have more responsibilities throughout the year leading up to Movin’ On. She said this would be a great learning experience and just overall interesting for them to be a part of. 

Petrocelli said that Movin’ On is such a special experience for members, and it is important to cherish every moment of it. She said that, though it can seem like a long load-in process, it is truly a rewarding job. Overall, Petrocelli said it is important to just have fun as well.

“When it’s all up and running just take a moment and sit back and think ‘Hey, I did this’,” Petrocelli said. “It’s such a great feeling.”