June 25th 2021
The Wizard of Oz
Well done to all of the Year 7s who performed The Wizard of Oz to their families on Monday and Tuesday this week. In a break from the norm, the play wasn’t in the theatre this year and instead we took the production to the Covid-compliant marquee on the front lawn to allow for more space both for performers and spectators.
The play was broken into three acts with each form group taking responsibility for performing one of these sections. This meant that there were a multitude of different Dorothys, Scarecrows, Lions and Tin Men (or should that be Tin Mans?) as well as duplicates of props to contend with. A huge thank you to Ms Roberts and her team for ensuring that all of this ran (as ever) like clockwork.
As if this wasn’t enough, the play was also performed to an audience sitting on both sides of the stage meaning that actors had to ensure they moved around the space so that everyone in the audience could see the action taking place. The marquee is also significantly larger than the theatre (and without the acoustic reinforcement of solid walls) so projection of voices was something the Year 7s had to really focus on if their lines were to be heard clearly.
Add into this torrential rain on the Monday, ruby slippers going missing and multiple sound cues for the boys to work around and this really was a production which required a lot of maturity and self-reliance from the boys.
I’m pleased to say that all of the boys were fantastic and did an excellent job of bringing energy and enthusiasm to their performances. A film of the opening night has been recorded and a link will be shared with all parents in due course, should you wish to enjoy the show! Thank you also to all of the staff who helped out both before and during the play in order to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Mr Edwards
