SRHS graduates among crew for Super Bowl halftime show

New Jerseyans were beaming with pride on Super Bowl Sunday, when the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos battled it out on the field at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. But the football game wasn’t the focus for Southern Regional High School graduates Taylor Brennan, Brianna Dini and Francessa LaBianco. The Manahawkin residents were among the working crew on the field, helping to assemble the custom-built stage for the halftime show. This year’s performance was headlined by pop music artist Bruno Mars and rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Photo by Taylor Brennan
Three Southern Regional High School graduates
helped with this year's Super Bowl halftime show.

“We took care of the unit that held Bruno’s drum kit, on the front of the stage where he begins the show, and the staging it rolls on. So we were right there next to him, before he started the show for all the rehearsals and on game day,” said Brennan. “We could all care less about the football; we are the kind of people that watch the halftime show, Grammy awards, etc. to see what lighting fixtures they are using, or how well the audio was mixed, and wondering what gear they used to pull off the show,” he added.

According to Nielsen ratings, the audience measurement systems that determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show is now the most-watched halftime show in history, with 115.3 million viewers, topping Madonna’s 2012 halftime show. The Guinness World Records listed the show as having the largest TV audience for a Super Bowl halftime performance. Beyonce’s 2013 halftime performance was the third most viewed show in history.

The opportunity for Brennan, Dini and LaBianco to participate in this year’s halftime show came after Brennan happened upon an article on last year’s performance. When he realized there were opportunities to work on the show in his home state, the others quickly joined him.

“To be honest, not many of us were huge fans of Bruno Mars or the RHCP, but we had a blast anyway,” said Brennan. “At one point, the television producer told us we had to look more like the ‘fans,’ with just as much excitement as the casted group of audience members behind us. We had to quickly get back to the stage after Bruno and his drums rolled by to get the truss portion of the stage off the field before Bruno started his first number.”

Photo by Taylor Brennan
The group had a bird's eye view
of Bruno Mars' stellar performance.

Thankfully, the three have had some experience working on different sets. Each member of the group has a background in production. Brennan and Dini work on many local theatrical productions at Southern Regional and the Stafford Township Arts Center. They primarily deal with production management and audio design, said Brennan. LaBianco is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in digital mass media and hopes to attend Montclair State University next year to further her education in TV and film production.

To get comfortable with the pieces they would be handling, the group traveled to the stadium for rehearsal a few weeks before the game. Every day they moved lights, audio gear, pyrotechnics and other equipment via carts. More and more equipment was added over the course of the weeks to make it more challenging, Brennan explained.

“Not once did anyone really talk about time, or how fast this has to be done,” he said. “There’s only around 24 minutes to get the stage out, perform and get everything back to the halftime tent. Everyone spoke of safety and doing everything precise. If you get those two down, you won’t ever have to worry about time,” he added.

Brennan said there were a lot of inner workings that went on, which “no one at home would ever see or know about.”

“During the last few dress rehearsals on the field, a bunch of pyro was cut from the show. The huge truss portion of the stage that is used to get Bruno from his starting point to the stage, that was rigged with lighting gear, pyro, camera gear, etc.,” he explained.

The group mingled with a number of NFL officials, passing them in the tunnel and stopping for hellos. They spent “a good amount of time” chatting with Bruno’s drum technician, Jason, as well as his personal assistant, Ryan Keomaka.

Of course, security was tight, said Brennan. After passing through security checks to get into the compound, the group was required to show their credentials, official wristbands, “around every corner, door and gate.” They were also advised not to take photos, post any video, or share any details about the show until Sunday. Releasing such content would spoil the performance and create a security hazard, they said.

“It’s an awesome experience. Not only do you get to work on a huge event like the Super Bowl halftime show, you also meet and work with people, both professionals and others who are just in it for the experience, that you will never forget,” said Brennan. “We made so many new friends last week, and we all plan to fly to Arizona for next year’s halftime show and pre- and post-game show setup. We miss everyone like crazy already and cannot wait to do it again.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.