The Naples Players (TNP) attracts all walks of life to our volunteer family – we have all ages and backgrounds working together to make our high-quality productions come to fruition. Some move from faraway places and are looking for a new group of friends; and others are locals looking to learn a new skill. Sherlay Cajuste is a Naples native and joined our TNP volunteer family this fall to help with Blithe Spirit in the sound department.

Sherlay graduated from Florida State in April of this year and returned home to Naples to start her job search. “I studied political science and had a minor in film and economics. There’s not a big presence of film in Naples so I decided to research opportunities in theatre. I wanted to see if I could get some experience before going back to school and TNP is volunteer-based so I didn’t have to spend any time interviewing, I could just start to gain experience and training right away.”

Sherlay explains all that goes into sound for a theatre performance and her own responsibilities as a volunteer.  “A lot goes on behind the scenes – there’s a design process that happens (similar to the way that the costumes are designed way before rehearsals start), and then during the performances you have to make sure everyone’s microphone goes off and on at the right time, and that the sound effects happen when they’re supposed to – it’s intricate! During Blithe Spirit, I sat in the little booth at the back of the theater to help oversee the sound and I helped to prep the mics on the actors.”

Currently, Sherlay is working sound on A Christmas Carol: the Musical. “I’m helping prep the mics and making sure they sound good on stage while fixing things as needed. I’m hoping to get more responsibilities but I’m just starting out! I didn’t know anything about sound before I started volunteering here. I had to learn why we use them in the first place and where to place them on the actors. I learned a lot and I would like to venture into different departments at TNP.”

In the future, along with more responsibility in TNP’s sound department, Sherlay would like to get on stage herself. “I think I’ll take one of the courses that TNP offers because when I watch the actors on stage it looks really fun. Theatre is all new to me – I was more of a music student when I was younger. I did band and played the clarinet and then the baritone (euphonium). I would like to take a class first and then audition just to see if I can do it and see if I like it. The musicals just seem so fun because of the singing and dancing, but I would try a play like Blithe before a musical.”

Even though Sherlay has only been volunteering for a short time, she already has a favorite play that she helped out with. “I did a little work on By The Way, Meet Vera Stark and the crew and cast were so nice. They liked to sing a lot. One of the cast members would use the prop guitar and they would sing every day before the show started. I made sure the props were set before the show and also helped out with costume changes. I would have auditioned for Vera if I had started volunteering for TNP earlier.”

So much of what Sherlay is learning at her neighborhood theater can be applied to a career in film but she has an additional personal goal to attain. “I’m an introvert so I am really shy but I want to try acting to get some confidence and be more open. When I see the actors, they’re always so expressive and confident.”

All of us at The Naples Players are grateful that we happened to be the first theater that Sherlay stumbled upon, as she is already an important part of our volunteer family!  “What impressed me most is that everyone is a volunteer here, even the actors on stage. I was curious to see how good the plays are and they are really impressive. The process was really inviting too – Pamela (Larkin Caruso, Director of Volunteer Advancement) immediately reached out and I took a tour of the theater and heard all about the future plans. One thing about volunteering here is that people take the time to get to know you and your name. People just knew who I was when I walked in – everyone knew my name and I really appreciated that. I haven’t looked at any other theaters since!”