Thomas Metcalf School

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”

 Thornton Wilder— Dramatist 1897-1975

 

Allied Arts Musical 2009

THE WIZ

L. Jane Thomley

Creative Drama & Theatre Arts

Thomas Metcalf School

Office Phone:  309-438-2588

Hayden Auditorium: 309-438-8433

Fax: 309-438-2580

E-mail:  ljthoml@ilstu.edu

The Wiz was created by an African American D.J. Ken Harperat an New York Radio Station in the 60’s.  He got the idea of a musical based on The Wizard of Oz using African American actors and hip music and dance.  Harper hired Charlie Smalls to write some of the songs for the musical.  He eventually impressed executives at Twentieth Century-Fox.  At this time Fox was interested in investing in Broadway musicals so that they could later make movies out of them.  Using the name Cinema Scope Products, Fox invested $650,000 and the musical was started.

             Gilbert Moses III was named director, Geoffrey Holder was costume designer, George Faison choreographer, Tom John set designer, Sixteen-year old singer Stephanie mills was cast as Dorothy, Clarice Taylor was Addaperle Good Witch of the North, Mabel King would be the Wicked Witch of the West , Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda, and Andre De Shields as the Wiz.  The show opened on December 17 at the Winter Garden in New York.

             Trouble began immediately. Nothing worked and the show was overlong so Gilbert Moses III was fired and Geoffrey Holder (the costume designer) was to be director, now he was doing two jobs at once. He reinstated the tornado ballet and cut the queen of the field mice.

             The rewrite opened with a closing notice on the door at the Majestic theater in New York.  Fox was worried about the show so they created a commercial (below). The African American community was targeted.  This campaign worked and the Wiz was a popular show to see.  It was nominated for eight Tony Awards, and winning 7 including Best Musical.  The Wiz ran for 4 years, and two touring companies after that.

             Fox decided not to make a film version of the Wiz because of some recent musical film flops (Hello, Dolly!, Star, Etc.).  Motown (the recording company that started Jackson 5, the Supremes, The Temptations, and others), was interested in making movies after their successes with The Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany.  They struck a deal with Universal Studios to buy film rights by swapping for distribution rights.

             Diana Ross was to play Dorothy, Sidney Lumet was to direct, Joel Schumacher wrote a screenplay, Tony Walton created a visual concept for the film.  Now Dorothy was a Kindergarten teacher who had never left her New York neighborhood.  There were Manhattan landmarks in the land of the Oz.  The film cost $24m and it grossed $13m.  The film was not a success.

             The stage musical has been popular since it’s Broadway production. countless stock and amateur productions produced across the country.  In 1999 there was talk about a television remake, however this never happened.  There is a Broadway revival of the show planned for 2010.  For images of other productions and more information on the history of THE WIZ go to http://www.thewizthemusical.com/  More information on our production to come.

To contact us:
Text Box: Are you thinking of participating in this year’s children's show or musical? If you are please be on the lookout for a re-sealable water bottle to bring to rehearsal. We are trying to keep the plastic water bottles out of the landfill so we will be insisting that you provide a water bottle that can be taken home and run through the dishwasher. Be a theatre fan but think GREEN. Text Box: Frequently Asked Questions About the Allied Arts Program Now that “Superman” has closed, we thought we would take this opportunity to share some of the answers to our most frequently asked questions. What exactly is the Allied Arts Program? The Allied Arts Program is a performance based Activity that combines the efforts of students in the theatre arts, music and visual arts programs at Metcalf. The program was created as a performance alternative to the traditional holiday or Christmas concert. Students at Metcalf receive instruction in Creative Dramatics beginning in 1st grade. This program is a natural o out growth of the Creative Drama/Theatre Arts curriculum providing a performance based experience for those students eager to explore a more formal production centered activity. It is an extra curricular activity that meets after school. Portions of the technical elements of set and prop design are included in the 5th & 6th grade Theatre Crafts Units of study in Visual Art and Theatre Arts classes. Rehearsals are after school and additional tech work is done on Saturdays. How long has the Allied Arts program been at Metcalf? The Allied Arts Program is 28 years old. The first production was SCROOGE and was performed the week before the Holiday break. Q: How did it get started? In the fall of 1980 the music teachers suggested we look for Musical play as an alternative to the traditional Christmas program. Since some of our diverse Metcalf community did not celebrate hat holiday we felt some other sort of performance would better suit our population. The performance of SCROOGE was approached as a piece of Social Commentary rather than a celebration of the holiday. Subsequent productions were the Rodgers and Hammerstein CINDERELLA and THE WIZARD OF OZ. A complete list of productions appears elsewhere on this site. Q: What will the play be next year? Although the directors have a pretty firm idea of what the play will be in the months soon after the current production, no announcement will be made until fall. Why don’t you tell us as soon as you have made your decision? There are several reasons we wait until fall to make any sort of announcement. The play we have selected might become unavailable and an alternate might need to be chosen. Young actors often envision themselves or a classmate in a certain part and might hesitate to audition thinking the play is already cast. Some students might be so eager to play a specific role that they neglect to consider all of their options and prepare material ahead that is not what the directors want to see. Most importantly we want students to concentrate on their school work and live in the present not someplace in the past or the future. Young actors are to often tempted to “pre-cast” a play in their imaginations without understanding fully the needs of the entire production. An announcement in the early fall gives everyone time to learn about the play, get a strong start to the school year and plenty of time to prepare for auditions. Q: How do you find the plays that we perform? The majority of the plays we produce are owned by one of the three major theatrical libraries located in New York. Because of the large number of students who want to participate we look for traditional “book” style musicals that give us an opportunity to cast a large ensemble or chorus. On occasion we might elect to do an original or commissioned work by a new playwright. We read a lot of plays, go to see other productions and brainstorm ideas with individuals in the community with theatre expertise. We talk with students about their interests and take all of these into consideration before making a decision. When will we find out what the play for next year is? An announcement will be made soon after school starts. We will have several “Getting to Know the Show” sessions where we will introduce the story and music of the play, brainstorm ideas for the “look” we want for the production, and begin to prepare for auditions. What is an audition? An audition is an opportunity for the directors to hear you sing and perform a short acting monologue, poem or scene. The vocal and acting requirements are different for every play. Sometimes there are roles that require no singing. Other times their are roles that require dance experience or gymnastic skills. Every audition is different but you can always expect to sing and demonstrate some acting skill at an audition for a musical. How do you assign the roles after auditions? We look at your age, physical appropriateness for the roles, singing range, tone, pitch match and projection and the acting /expressive skills you demonstrated at auditions. We look for a combination of experience and inexperience in the cast and we look for the best combination of actors, singers and dancers that we can find. How much time is devoted to rehearsals? That depends on the role in which you are cast. Principal characters should plan to rehearse up to 4 out of our 4 rehearsals per week. Supporting characters 3 out of 4 rehearsals and chorus members 2 of 4 rehearsal days. As we progress into blocking and run through rehearsals everyone’s time commitment will move to 4 out of 4 rehearsals. This is especially true of the last 3 weeks of rehearsal. How do you plan the rehearsal schedule? A rehearsal schedule is planned sequentially. We work from the beginning to the end. Music rehearsals in the first month are arranged by character and grouping. Solos may rehearse one night, small ensembles another and large groups/chorus on a third night. The nights of the week vary within individual schedules. Can I do other activities and still be in the play? Sure, just remember we only have 4 rehearsals a week and if you have to many conflicts it will reduce the amount of time you have to give to rehearsal. School work comes first. You must be an organized student and demonstrate best effort to participate. What does the crew do? The crew is an important component to theatre production. They are responsible for lighting the actors, organizing sound, props, costumes and making sure the scenery completes the director’s vision of the play. Is there a difference between the crew that builds the sets/props and the crew that gets to be backstage during the performance? Yes, the construction crews work to create the sets, props , lights, sound and costumes. The running crew is responsible for the technical elements during performance. Some crew members do both jobs. Since they know how an object was built and how it was intended to be used construction crew members often transfer into running crew assignments as tech week approaches. How do I get a job on the crew? Construction or Tech Saturdays are open to everyone in grades 5—8. All you have to do is show up and sign in. We are happy to have extra help. Running crew positions are by application and are assigned at the same time auditions are held and roles are assigned for the actors. Running crew members attend rehearsal beginning the last week of January. What if I can’t make every technical rehearsal or I need to leave early? The answer to this depends on the job you are assigned. We often assign a “Swing” crew member to each of the main technical areas. This way a job can be covered by the swing if someone needs to be absent or leave early. Crew members have very limited rehearsal time compared to actors so it is a good idea to arrange your schedule so you don’t have to be absent. You don’t want to miss changes or new material. Text Box: THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Thank you to all of our parents and students who so graciously donated plastic tubs and containers, Kleenex, pencils, pens and hand soap to the Theatre Arts and Visual Arts programs this year. These items will be used by everyone in class and during after school rehearsals and studio. We will make great use of all of your donations.

Bob Holliday as Superman in the 1966 Broadway production

When Superman is called to the basketball court his Super understudy Brent takes over!   Thank you, Brent, for the time and effort you have put in to help out!
Text Box: FOR SALE We have 2 medium and 2 large short sleeve t-shirts from Superman available for $6 each. . We also have one of the red “peanut” desks from IKEA available for 25.00. The desk/table is normally 50.00. See Ms. T if you are interested in any of these items.

Click below to view the commercial

Text Box: Cast of Characters The characters in the Wiz incorporate more of the characters from the original book. Although originally written for an all African American company, our production will have a distinct international flavor. Aunt Em Toto Dorothy Uncle Henry Munchkins Addaperle Good Witch of the North The Yellow Brick Road singing dancing ensemble Scarecrow Crows Tinman Lion Kalidahs intent on destroying Dorothy & her friends Poppys Fieldmice the mice squad of the Emerald City Royal Gate Keeper Evillene Wicked Witch of the West The Wiz Lord High Underling Soldier Messenger Winged Monkey Winkies enslaved by Evillene Glinda Good Witch of the South Emerald City Citizen Pit Choir singers who support the onstage vocals from the pit