This Saturday and Sunday we held auditions for local children to join the cast of The Wizard of Oz at Christmas. They’ll play Munchkins, the citizens of the Emerald City and the Winkie guards enslaved by the Wicked Witch of the West. We’re asking a great deal from the children, who need to be able to sing, act, dance; work together as co-operative members of a team; commit to a heavy workload and still stay smiling. So we have a rigorous selection process. This weekend we met with a hundred budding performers.
I’d expected it to be a fairly gruelling weekend for me – who would willingly commit to spending a weekend with a hundred children? – but in fact it was a total delight. Our stage management and admin staff had the whole thing under control, so that calm reigned throughout the building. Parents helpfully brought their children along in good time so that everything ran smoothly. Our education team ran the workshops and auditions, making them enjoyable for the children participating. Then at the end of every audition came a real treat, when each child sang his or her song. We heard some terrific versions of classic numbers; saw some wonderful performers; admired the intelligence and concentration of these young people who were giving us part of their precious weekend; and were overwhelmed by the eagerness with which they met each task. It will be a hard job to select forty of them to go through to The Wizard of Oz Summer School – and then even harder to whittle that forty down to twenty-four for the actual performances.
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