CHS Drama presents the Wizard of Oz

This weekend Kansas and Oz come flying into to Goodrich Auditorium with the Cameron High School drama department presenting the classic musical production of The Wizard of Oz.

According to the drama department advisor Derek Williams, approximately fifty kids, including those from Cameron High School and students playing munchkins from Parkview and Cameron Intermediate School will take the stage to bring the classic production to life starting Thursday night.

Unlike some large schools, Williams says, the actors in these productions do all the work from start to finish, including set design, production, lighting, sound, every single piece of the production has been worked on and set up by the actors and volunteers working with the production.
Work began on the production back in August and Williams approximates 15-20,000 hours have been spent on it, with the biggest push being the last few weeks. For the past three weeks, the cast and crew have been running through the entire show after school, a process which takes about three and a half hours a night.

Williams said they also try to make the theater as accessible as possible to all kids, no matter needs or income, there are special needs kids in the production, kids with cancer, there are a lot of different things to work around.

“But it becomes one big family, the kids are really supportive of each other and encourage each other,” Williams said. “That’s one of the biggest things they can learn from each other and I hope they do.”

The crew got the first run through in front of an audience on Tuesday morning when students from Parkview came to Goodrich to watch the entire play. Williams said it was a good experience and they learned a lot, which will help them prepare for opening night on Thursday.

Williams said the theater program is well supported by the community and says approximately 2,000 people will have seen the play by the time the final curtain closes.

“I don’t think people realize how many hours these kids put in to all these programs,” Williams says. “It doesn’t matter which program it is, a sport, the arts or any other extracurricular, and they really love what they do. I hope the community really supports all the activities they do.”

So far ticket sales for the production have gone really well, with Friday and Saturday nights already almost sold out. Williams suggests people purchase tickets online, don’t plan on getting them at the door, and plan on going to the Thursday night production.

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz are available on the drama department website at www.camerondrama.com.

Photos submitted