The story behind the sets

2–3 minutes

Understanding the effort behind the huge rotunda displays of Spirit Week

Staff Writer

Archita Khandelwal (10), the set design co-lead for the sophomore class, described a student’s first introduction to spirit week. “When you first walk in during Spirit Week, it’s filled with these beautiful paintings everywhere.” These sets—huge posters and props meant to showcase each class’s theme and school spirit—require months of preparation in advance.

“We started in July or August,” Khandelwal said, describing the process. “All three directors called and decided what we wanted the set to look like. We sketched it out, used measurements, and decided how many panels we’d have. We planned out everything.”

Planning is key. Khandelwal helped with set creation last year too, when planning beforehand was lacking. “It was really chaotic last year,” she said. “We got the information that we had to make a set three weeks before Spirit Week. It was really bad.”

Organizing enough people is also crucial. Mike Nandan (11), who worked on set creation for the class of 2026 this year, recognized the importance of having enough help, something they fell short with in their sophomore year. “Many people signed up but didn’t show up. Every session, we had at most five people. The only people participating were forced to participate. A lot of it felt lackluster and without passion. That’s why we opened it up to more people this year.”

After planning and recruitment, the next step is to create the set. “In our first few meetings, we started cutting everything up and sketching the design,” Khandelwal said. “We planned, then we started. We ordered the materials, we painted everything, and now we’re taping it.”

Nandan described the creation of the large posters in the background of each set in more depth. “We had a bunch of rolls of poster paper and rolled them out until they met the required width and length. Then, we taped those poster papers down. It’s really big—36 to 18 feet.”

Despite the effort needed, those working on set believe the work is worth it. “You don’t get to see what’s inside until you see the front of it,” Nandan explained. “Sets give you a first impression of the group that is involved. It requires the management of different parts to bring it together and make a good set piece. It’s really important that when you see all the stuff in the rotunda, you can get a sense of the quality of the class and of their performance during Spirit Week.”

Caption: Students from the class of 2026 finish putting up the poster for their Spirit Week set. “It’s really important that when you see all the stuff in the rotunda, you can get a sense of the quality of the class and of their performance during Spirit Week,” said Mike Nandan (11), who worked on the class of 2026’s set. (Photo Credit: Atsu Iyer (11))