by Glen Macnow
Some of us at PCS express our love of theater through our voices. Others share their talents through tap shoes.
For Allison Miller, expression comes through a miter saw.
Allison is the one of the valuable volunteers who shows up for every production, a set builder who – while she has no desire to appear on stage these days – creates the structures that put PCS audience members in awe.
“She’s a talent,” says tech director Ed Robins. “She’s handy as a carpenter and a helper. And she’s fearless. A lot of people look at that table saw with the spinning blade and step back. But she just said, ‘Show me how to use that tool.’ “
Allison arrived at PCS just last year, in time to build some of the intricate pieces for “Young Frankenstein.” Her background in theater started long before that.
She grew up in northern Virginia and attended what she describes as “a hippie alternative public school with an extraordinary theater program.” She appeared in small roles in a handful of plays, but always found herself more interested and comfortable out of the spotlight – serving as stage manager for the first time as an eighth grader.
For seven years, starting at age 18, she ran a Shakespeare summer camp. And then Allison’s life moved in other directions – literally around the country. After graduating from Pomona College in Southern California, she earned her PhD in mathematics at the University of Texas, and then a post-doctorate at Rice University in Houston. Not exactly modest endeavors.
She arrived in this area in 2021 to teach math at Swarthmore College. She wanted to get involved in the local theater community, so showed up one Saturday morning during a set build, asked for Ed Robins, and “got handed a tool I had no idea how to use.”
Allison was not deterred, and she says, “Ed – and everyone else, for that matter – was so generous explaining how things work.” So, she showed up again the following Saturday. And the one after that. And nearly every one since then.
“She’s handy, she’s fearless and she’s a real positive energy for us,” says Ed. “Every Saturday, you can count on Allison.”
Recently, Ed has been teaching her advanced backstage tasks, including the complex nuances of the fly system. “Currently only Jimmy (Psitos), George (Mulford) and I know to work that,” he says. “We need someone else with that expertise, just in case we all get hit by a bus.”
Allison has also learned how to work the box office and is weighing the opportunity to run crew for one of the upcoming productions. She is currently on sabbatical from Swarthmore College, “so I’ve got more time to get involved in a show. I’m excited about that possibility.”
But mostly she adds, “I really just love going in on Saturdays. It’s a way to contribute to something, and it’s also relaxing and rewarding. I’ve learned practical skills. I’ve learned about tools. Turns out, I really like routers.”