Lindsey B. Mayer started her Summer Stage apprenticeship at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center in the hopes of becoming a performer, but has found her true calling backstage as a set designer, writes Anne Neborak for the Delaware County News Network.

A graduate of Upper Darby High School, Mayer completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in technical theater and design at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, and has since designed more than 20 sets, including 12 for Summer Stage. Her latest creation will incorporate an erupting volcano in The Dinosaur Musical, from Aug. 10-12.

“I ended up doing props for the show You Can’t Take It With You, an American classic,” said Mayer. “I had a really good time, and I realized that my desire to perform was not a love of performing, more a love for the spotlight.

“The tech crew was like a bunch of pirates, the kids that didn’t fit in anywhere else. We were a little artsy, a little technical, we were a lot of weird, and we ended up in this island of misfit toys, and it was a really cool group to be in.”

One of the most valuable things Mayer has learned from her work backstage is the importance of teamwork.

“Even if I don’t stay in theater my whole life, the ability to collaborate will be endlessly useful in whatever I do,” she said.