This March, The Timothy Christian School Theater Department brought the beloved musical classic, Wizard of Oz to life!
For the first time in many years, the Department embarked on performing a musical! Director Alison Pachuski (TCS Class of 2012) and Producer Juliana Dagnall, added to their production team by way of LeeAnna Colonnello as Musical Director and Lindsey Ferreri leading with Set Design.
Our students especially enjoyed the singing and dancing. Fan favorites were the whole cast numbers, Jitterbug and Merry Old Land of Oz! Senior, Lacey King (Dorothy) served as Student Choreographer and was pivotal in choreographing these and helping her castmates learn dance moves. Senior, Aaron DaCosta (The Tinman) noted several times that he wasn’t sure he could do all the dancing, but the atmosphere created and the excitement of the show made it possible!
A challenge of embarking on the Wizard of Oz show was the many facets of production that had to be executed flawlessly. Yes, all the lights, sound, and mics had to work but there was so much more needed for this show! The Tinman needed to be covered in silver from head to toe. The Scarecrow needed his post and haybales. The poppies had to be painted onto the set panels. The Wizard needed his larger-than-life mask. The yellow brick road needed to appear. Dorothy needed her bucket of water!
“In the last two weeks of rehearsals when I typically stress the most, God provided by way of our very own students! Aside from their regular roles as actors and crew, they stepped up as leaders out of what felt like nowhere. I was in awe of their God-given talents to create and execute. Their passions were on full display, and I thank them for sharing those gifts with us!” shared Mrs. Dagnall.
Senior Mariano Grino and his family made our Scarecrow post. Senior, Dara Gonzalaz led our makeup team, designing the looks on paper and then following those blueprints to transform our students into their characters. Several crew members spraypainted, and glued props together. Our set painting crew learned how to mix and blend paint colors making the Land of Oz stand out. Senior, Kevin Bryant spent hours putting up the lights and training our new A/V team on how to run the show from the Tech booth.
Another notable thing about the Wizard of Oz stage production was the ensemble roles. Our multi-faceted ensemble played everything from Munchkins to the Wicked Witch’s Winkies to Flying Monkeys, to singing flowers. They had very quick costume changes backstage and took on several unique characters.
Ensemble member and Freshman, Faith Dyer shared, “This whole new experience gave me a chance to make a lot of new friends that I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t in theater. It was really a good bonding experience, and I am glad I did it.”
As we reminisce on our time in Oz, we would be remiss to not thank our fourteen seniors. Thank you for working so hard to build this department and share your talents! Thank you to everyone who supported the arts and our show. We can’t wait to see what next year holds for the TCS stage!
