Over The Rainbow

Wow, I am so behind on blogging. Better get going! Sorry about being a terrible blogger lately; I promise to not give up on blogging, but with a busy life, things may slow down a bit.

Way, way back at the beginning of this school year, Celeste got a part in Great Expectations Academy's production of The Wizard Of Oz. This was a dream come true for her: she has been a huge fan of Oz since she was very young. She's been watching the 1939 movie since she was old enough to talk; and while she doesn't watch it now as often as she used to, she has never stopped loving it. It inspired her so much she had a Wizard Of Oz-themed birthday party at the tender age of three! Celeste has started seeking out other "Oz" properties in recent years as well, like the movies Oz the Great and Powerful and Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return). And of course, Celeste loved the heck out of the musical Wicked when we watched it on stage last fall...she had a birthday party based on that play just a few months ago!

Perhaps, then it was fate that Celeste was able to participate in this year's school play; it helped her take a personal "journey" to Oz, in a way. Even if "Oz" was mostly made up of cardboard sets and felt flowers, it was enough; every Thursday after rehearsals, it seemed as if Celeste was returning from a visit to a marvelous fantastical world.

On a personal note, it made me so happy that she got to be a Munchkin; it was a perfect fit for her! It wasn't just her age (she was one of the youngest kids cast in the show). It is her sweet, youthful enthusiasm for life and her intense optimism that made her a perfect fit for the jubilant, childlike Munchkins. That, plus she looked so darn cute in her costume.

Celeste (and her friends Elise, left, and Elsie, center) were members of the Munchkin Lullaby League & they had their own song and dance solo, just like in the movie!

 Lorelai chose not to try out for the play this year. She'd had small parts in Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, the two previous school plays. Even though she had a great time participating in both shows, Lorelai decided she wanted to try some other extracurricular activities this school year, and wanted to "take a break" from the play so as to free up her schedule a bit. She didn't participate in the audition, but she instead signed up to be a crew member. Diana, the play's director, was initially going to let only middle school students be crew members, but she trusted fifth-grader Lorelai enough to make an exception in her case. Luckily, this turned out pretty well for everyone (a little more on this later).

This year, the main parts of the play were double-cast (just like Cinderella two years before). The smaller parts, though, like the flying monkeys, Winkies, and Munchkins, were played by the same kids for every show. But even these "lesser" parts still had a lot to do, so Celeste and her fellow Munchkins ended up attending every rehearsal. Each rehearsal had three different focuses: acting, singing, and dancing...and each of these focuses had its own instructor. As a result, the performers were getting a more intense, rounded instruction than they had had for previous plays. In my opinion, this strategy worked out to the benefit of the whole show; as the date of the play drew near, the cast appeared more prepared than in previous years.

There were two big differences in the school play this year. First, the show was performed in a different location than the previous two years. Instead of using the large LDS stake center closer to our neighborhood, the director decided to put on the show at the older LDS meetinghouse instead. There were several reasons for this, many related to scheduling complications. Although the cultural center/gymnasium is a lot smaller in this older building, the actual stage is a lot better than the one in the stake center. (it's deeper, and it has better lights and curtains, for instance). The smaller gymnasium also meant the sound system worked a lot more efficiently than it had at the stake center (the surround speakers and wireless microphones had fewer technical difficulties, and it was a lot easier to hear all the performers at showtime). Finally, the older meetinghouse is located very close to Great Expectations Academy, which made it easier for students to move between the two locations.

The other big change was in the performance schedule. Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast were both performed in mid-April. But The Wizard of Oz was performed the first weekend in March, almost a month and a half earlier. The reason for moving the performance date up was, again, a matter of ease in scheduling. Not only was it easier to reserve the LDS meetinghouse for those dates, but there were fewer conflicts with important school events as well. Late March is when the school has its two-week Spring Break; this long break has tended to kill the momentum of the show's development in years past. In addition, April is standardized testing month; besides that, the school's jazz band (which usually includes a large number of cast members) attends a jazz festival in California every April very close to showtime. It was nice to get the play "over with" a little earlier in the year, so as to avoid crowding the kids' schedules too much.

The catch to the earlier performance, of course, was an earlier start in the year as well. In previous years, play try-outs weren't held until late August or early September. This school year, tryouts happened just a week or so after school began (which for us is late July). In addition, there were more rehearsals held over holiday breaks; a few were held during our school's three-week Christmas break, for example. As a result, the rehearsals were a little more "urgent" and intense than in years past; thankfully, it all came together at the right time and the end results were great, as usual!

 

 

As in previous years, I wasn't able to attend rehearsals or help out much, due to my piano lessons after school. But I was able to attend the odd rehearsal that fell during a holiday break. I love seeing plays come together, bit by bit...it is fascinating to watch the actors grow into their roles and the crew to start creating magic. During the final week leading up to the show, I was able to help set up some of the sets and work backstage with scenery and props.

 

The last couple of weeks before showtime were a little bit hectic for everyone, but everyone was still very excited anyway.  By the night of the technical rehearsals, I could sense the kids' nerves, but also their determination and dedication. It seems to me that with every year that passes, the kids get more and more "professional" and prepared for the show. I think Diana is slowly but surely turning the kids of Great Expectations Academy into bonafide performers!

 

And the crew members (especially Lorelai...no, I'm not at all biased) did a good job this year, too! For the first couple of months on the crew, Lorelai helped out assembling costume pieces (many of the Munchkins doubled as "trees" for the scary forest scenes, and the crew spent a lot of time sewing the "bark" pieces together). She also helped out a bit with painting sets. But during one rehearsal, Diana asked Lorelai if she wouldn't mind operating the CD player with the musical soundtrack. That way, Diana could help the performers get their parts right without having to worry about the musical cues.

 

Lorelai happily complied, and did such a good job that she was asked to help with the musical cues at the next rehearsal...and the next. One week, when crew was not required to attend practice, Lorelai stayed home...and I got a message from Diana the next day to "please send Lorelai next time, and every time until the performances." Apparently, she had been very helpful for them. I was so proud of how responsible Lorelai was, and how determined to do a good job. She paid close attention to everything going on, almost never missed a cue, and stayed focused on her task for the entire rehearsal. In the end, she was rewarded by being chosen to cue up the soundtrack for the actual performances as well! She did an amazing job, winning the respect of the other adults who were handling the technical side of things. 

 

There was one other big change in the performances this year; instead of putting on two shows, the cast put on three shows! Their first performance was on Friday morning, March 4th (the morning after the late-night tech rehearsal; Celeste and many of her young Munchkin friends were pretty tired out by this point!). This morning performance was exclusively for the students & teachers of Great Expectations Academy. The whole school traveled to the church building to see the show (the kindergartners took the bus, while the older students walked).

There weren't enough chairs for everyone, so everyone sat on the floor of the gym to watch. Everyone was a bit nervous, and this performance was a bit sloppy, both on-stage and backstage. However, it was a good opportunity to "work out the bugs" and fix the mistakes before the two evening shows. And despite the shakiness, the kids loved the show. I'd been worried about having all the young kids crammed so close together in the gym; I worried everyone would lose interest and start goofing off and causing trouble. As it turned out, I needn't have worried; even the young kindergartners were completely entranced by the performance and didn't miss a word!

Look, they even made the Lifetime section of the local paper!

 After that daytime performance, the kids went back to school (glittery makeup and outlandish hairdos intact!). That afternoon, we tried to let the kids rest up for the evening show. When we made it back to the church building that night, we discovered that someone had done a little decorating in our absence:

 

It was fun to "follow the yellow brick road" into the meetinghouse to find our seats!

Overall, the kids did an amazing job. I worked backstage at both the Friday morning and Friday evening shows, and I noticed the kids getting more confident and loose with each performance. You could almost see their confidence and enthusiasm growing! I was able to watch the Saturday night show (the only one performed by the "B Cast"; the Friday shows featured the "A Cast"), and it was great to experience it with a large, enthusiastic audience.

The celebration afterwards didn't last too long; after three performances in two days, Celeste and Lorelai were pooped! But they managed to get some photos with lots of their friends and fellow cast members:

 

 

 

 

I am so happy my beautiful Munchkin Celeste got to have the opportunity to be a Lullaby League girl, and wow the crowd with her adorableness. It was really a dream come true for her to be able to participate in The Wizard of Oz, and I'm so glad she had that opportunity. Unfortunately, this version of the play did not allow for video recordings, so we don't have an official DVD of the performance, unlike the two preceding years. However, we took lots of pictures and we all know the songs by heart by now, so those good memories will have to do.

 

 

We are all curious to see what happens with the play next year. We don't know what it will be yet; Diana and her sister Cindy (who serves as co-director/choreographer) are still weighing their options. Lorelai told me she wants to try out; and even if she doesn't get a part in the show, she told me she would be happy to work as a crew member again. So she's in a win-win situation! I'm sure Celeste would like to be on stage again next year, and I'm sure she'll try her hardest to make the next show. She is definitely the more "dramatic" of my two older girls, so it would not surprise me to see her participating in these shows for as long as she is able. Either way, I'm glad this year was such a good experience for her (and for Lorelai, too). It makes for a busy schedule, but it has been a very positive experience for my kids overall.