Four Crates, One Truck: Behind the Scenes of Hands on a Hardbody
- ACT News
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Before ten contestants can put their hands on a truck and compete for the chance to drive it home, ACT has to get that truck onto the stage.
Ours arrived from New York in four massive wooden shipping crates—each weighing roughly 500 pounds. Inside was the centerpiece of Hands on a Hardbody: the shell of a real Nissan Hardbody, specially adapted so actors can climb, dance, and move on it throughout the production.
The video captures ACT Technical Director & Venue Manager Jon Hatton, along with Thomas and Jody, unpacking and assembling the truck after its arrival at the theatre.
Four Crates Arrive at ACT
ACT rented the truck from The Play Group Theatre in White Plains, New York, where it has been used in productions around the country.
“It was shipped to us in pieces packed into four huge wooden cases,” Jon explains. “Each one weighed roughly 500 pounds. We have a great team here at ACT, and everyone pitched in to help get it off the semi truck that delivered it.”
From there, the work began to turn a collection of pieces into the truck audiences will see onstage.
Not Your Average Pickup Truck
This isn’t simply a prop sitting in the background.
The truck is built from the shell of an actual Nissan Hardbody. Inside, a wooden frame provides the support needed for the performers to climb and dance on it, while heavy-duty casters allow the cast to move it around the stage.
In Hands on a Hardbody, the truck isn’t just the setting for the competition—it becomes part of the choreography.
The cast surrounds it, climbs on it, dances on it, and moves it throughout the production. It has to look convincing while also functioning safely and smoothly night after night.
So, What Does a Technical Director Do?
All of this falls under Jon’s role as ACT’s Technical Director.
“As Technical Director, I manage the physical and technical aspects of the production,” Jon says. “I work with the set designer and director to help turn their creative vision into a safe, working reality. I oversee the set construction and coordinate with the lighting and sound crews.”
For Hands on a Hardbody, that means helping take four enormous shipping crates and turn them into one of the most important performers on the stage.
It Takes a Team
Hands on a Hardbody is also Jon’s first Main Stage production as Technical Director at ACT, and one of the highlights has been the team behind the work.
“I am new at ACT, and this is my first Main Stage production as the Technical Director,” he says. “I think the most interesting and exciting part of the entire project has been the people that I have met along the way. Our theatre has such a fantastic and supportive staff. We also have a wonderful group of volunteers that have all chipped in to help bring this entire show to life!”
From four 500-pound crates to a truck that moves, rolls, and supports a stage full of performers, it takes a lot of hands to bring Hands on a Hardbody to life.
Now it’s almost time for the contestants to put theirs on the truck!
Hands on a Hardbody runs August 26–September 6 at ACT!
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