A "Le Reve" diver stands by as synchronized swimmers perform "Tango" during a recent show. Photos by Jeff Scheid. Swimmer Susanna Hyatt performs. High heels and scuba gear are piled up backstage at "Le Reve." Jakob Wetzel, dive technician at "Le Reve," gets his dive gear ready before a show. Scuba divers, who aren't visible to the audience, prepare the underwater stage at "Le Reve" during and between performances. A diver gives a breathing regulator to Kristina Lum. The divers' primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of anyone in the water, says dive technician Kaylee Ririe.

About 15 minutes before show time on a recent Thursday, "Le Reve" technician Kaylee Ririe received her evening assignment.

Section G4 was her backstage responsibility during the two evening performances. It was up to her to ensure the placement of specific props throughout the show, as well as assist any performer entering her area.

Typical duties for any stage technician working on a Strip show, but Ririe and most of "Le Reve's" other technicians are anything but typical. Before they can begin performing their jobs, they must first don wet suits and scuba gear and jump into 1.1 million gallons of water.

"Essentially, we're a hybrid of a stagehand and lifeguard. We're responsible for the safety of everyone who goes into the water," said Ririe, 28, one of about 30 certified scuba divers who work on the show.

"Le Reve," at Wynn Las Vegas, takes place mostly in the water. Surfaces rise up, giving acrobats and other performers a continuously evolving stage and audiences a visual feast. Artists spend much of the show in the water.

While the performers themselves have a unique job among other Strip artists, their contributions are witnessed by audiences five nights a week, two shows each night. The contributions of Ririe and her fellow stagehands are a bit less visible, yet just as vital.

As audiences watch the opening scene of "Le Reve," during which a performer dives into the water and a giant tree rises out of it, they don't see the divers below the surface performing their own spectacle. Sixteen divers work on each show, hidden from audience view by masking bubbles. Three divers stay in the water throughout the 75-minute performance, directing the action like traffic cops, Ririe said.

Without them, there would be no show.

"There's a lot of trust between the divers and artists. They can't see and can't breathe. We're their lifeline," Ririe said. "What these performers are doing is a dangerous thing. We're not just stagehands, we're first responders. We've got people's lives in our hands."

At least 32 air tanks are used during each show; 300 regulators are positioned around the pool. When an artist jumps into the water, a diver is there to hand them a regulator and swim them off-stage, as it were.

"These are the unsung heroes of the job," said Jennifer Dunne, spokeswoman for "Le Reve."

Presets start at 4:15 p.m. on show days; divers get into the water at 7:30 p.m., Ririe said. At its deepest, the pool is 27 feet; 9 feet and 5 inches at its shallow point. Some pieces of scenery and props weigh up 1,200 pounds, she added.

But the most challenging part of the job? Battling complacency. Luckily, Ririe said, that's not too difficult, as their duties change almost nightly.

"The beauty of live theater is that anything can happen, but the danger of it is that anything can happen," she said.

Ririe, who studied theater in college, enjoys her job. It's fun and rewarding, she said.

"What I don't like is we don't get to hear the applause. That's part of the job, though. It's a bummer," she said. "On the plus side, we're not up in the grid sweating."

That will change in April, after the "Le Reve" theater undergoes remodeling, Dunne said.

The back row of seats will become a VIP section, where guests will be able to watch video screens showing real-time footage of pre-show activity backstage. Cameras will also broadcast overhead and underwater angles, giving audiences a first-ever glimpse of the inner workings of the show, Dunne said.

"People are really fascinated by what happens backstage," Dunne said. "We're hoping this is going to be something really exquisite that isn't offered on the Strip. Yet."

"Le Reve" closes for remodeling Monday and reopens April 5.