Foundation Academy to present 'The Wizard of Oz'

The cast of Foundation Academy’s spring musical is not in Kansas anymore.

Or Florida, for that matter.

Students have been transported to the fantastical world of Oz as they prepare to bring the story of “The Wizard of Oz” to life on stage. 

Christina Haak, fine arts director at Foundation Academy, said the musical has been in the works since last school year when a group of students gave a presentation to the theater department leadership on why “The Wizard of Oz” should be this year’s musical. 

“Their points were very convincing, and they put a lot of time and effort into this,” Haak said of the presentation. “While we considered other shows, our creative team felt, ‘Let’s do it.’ They convinced us, and it’s ultimately more fun to do and a lot of times more successful to do a show that everyone wants to do.”

“The Wizard of Oz” film celebrated its 85th anniversary April 1, making the musical, which will be performed April 10-12, perfect timing. 

The work on the musical began.

ALL HANDS ON DECK
Foundation Academy’s performance of “The Wizard of Oz” will be one of the biggest and most technical shows the school has performed in the theater department’s history.

Haak said about 100 students are involved in the cast and crew of the production, which also includes fifth- and sixth-graders performing the munchkin roles. 

“Our fine-arts program in general has grown exponentially over the past two or three years,” Haak said. “Our team of leaders has grown, and we have a really awesome group of staff, teachers and directors that lead this group, and then student interest has followed that.”

Having elementary students involved in the production helps to grow interest and feed the school’s upper campus theater program, Haak said. 

She said the elementary students are enthusiastic to be a part of the musical theater world, and the upper campus students have demonstrated professionalism, kindness and respect while taking the younger students under their wings. 

“We are really building a theater community here with all of our students, kindergarten through 12, which is, I think, important and really fun, too,” Haak said. 

FINDING THE RIGHT CAST
When it came to casting the iconic roles of Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, Haak said the theater department took a different approach. Rather than have the directors of the show cast the roles, the school used a third-party casting team. The team consists of people in the performing arts community outside the school as well as people within the school who are skilled in theater but might not be personally connected to the students. The goal is to have a more unbiased evaluation of who is best suited for each role. 

“The students are cast very well in their roles, and we’ve watched them hold true to the tradition of some of these characters, while also making it their own,” Haak said. 

She’s seen some of the leading students come into their own as actors and performers. Haak said Desmond “DJ” Coryatt Jr., who will play the Cowardly Lion, “totally embodies everything you would expect and want from the Cowardly Lion,” yet she can see his own vivid, loving, goofy personality come through in the role. 

“The Wizard of Oz” also will be the first time some students who usually prefer to stay in the background are taking on center stage and basking in the spotlight. Armani Elliot, who is playing the Tin Man, has been singing for the school’s praise band and worship team. He decided to audition for this musical and let his talent truly shine. 

“His voice is, of course, beautiful, but he has done such an incredible job stepping into the theater world,” Haak said of Elliot. “He’s a very  quick learner, a very hard worker and watching someone sit and take hold of a new area of the arts and watch him shine and fall in love with the art is incredibly rewarding.”

'BEAUTIFUL' PRODUCTION
From costumes to the set and props, Foundation Academy is ready to make “The Wizard of Oz” a must-see production. 

“If I do say so myself, the show is stunningly beautiful; it’s gorgeous,” Haak said. “It’s the incredible directors and students of this production that really have done a phenomenal job of bringing this story to life.”

Haak said a digital video wall will be used to bring the audience into the world of Oz. 

Student-led crews have been hard at work creating set pieces that will be moved on and off stage as well as the props. 

The technical elements of the show will feature some new surprises that Haak was not willing to divulge, but she said they help bring elements of the movie to life. For example, the technical crew has ways of helping the scene go from black and white to color just as it does in the movie as well as ways to help the Wicked Witch of the West disappear and reappear. She said the technical elements will help to make the show “magical and add to the storytelling.”

Incorporating the technical elements has been an opportunity for the theater department to branch out and reach students who might not be interested in the more creative and artistic aspects of theater but rather engineering, technology and other aspects that come with the elements, Haak said. 

“Our student crew team is huge compared to what it was, and we also see that some of our students will sort of flip flop back and forth from the stage and behind the scenes because there is so much more excitement and energy on both sides,” she said. 

Besides the God-given talent of the students, Haak attributed the increase in students’ desire to be involved in all aspects of the production to the directors, technical directors and staff who champion the students by creating a culture and atmosphere of family within the department. She said students have the opportunity to learn and grow in areas in which they might be interested, and students are given skill-level appropriate tasks so they can grow and have the room to create, try, fail and succeed. 

Under the creative mind of Shawn Ryan, the show’s costume director, the costumes have been made to be as grand as the iconic characters themselves. Ryan created several of the costumes by reimagining pieces from previous performances, purchasing or renting items, and finding or borrowing other pieces. 

“Our costumes are going to be absolutely out of this world,” Haak said. “The craftsmanship and artistry that Shawn brings to our productions, we’re just so grateful for him and his partnership with us.”

Haak said every costume in the production, no matter how big or small the role, is individualized, down to every last Munchkin.  

“They’re in a costume that was created personally for them, and it’s something they can kind of step into and live in as they bring their character to life,” Haak said. “Each one is just really unique, and you don’t always get that in a high school production.”