Students from each of the schools in the Allen County School District will unite to present the musical “The Wizard of Oz” later this month at the Allen County-Scottsville High School.
“We will have about 50 kids from across the District,” explained middle school and high school choir director Megan Puckett. “This includes our stage managers and assistant stage managers. We will also have additional kids helping out in other ways.”
The three-day production---slated for March 24-26---caps five months of preparation by the cast. The production is under the leadership of Puckett and high school drama educator Kadi Burden.
“We had auditions in November with a read through in December,” Puckett explained. “We started rehearsals in January. We have been working ever since then on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Rehearsals started at an hour, now they are an hour-and-a-half after school as we get closer to production time. We will also have worked three to four Saturday’s by the time of the show. The kids have been busy.”
The cast and stage crews includes students from kindergarten to high school seniors. Despite the age differences, the students have bonded together to work toward opening night.
“It’s neat to watch the interaction between the bigger kids and the little kids,” Puckett pointed out. “The little kids will sit and watch or sing along behind them. They will also call the older kids by their stage names rather than their real names. They get really excited.”
The production also includes visiting musicians that will provide the accompaniment.
“We have 12 musicians that will be involved,” Puckett said. “They sound great in their rehearsals.”
The curtain for the three-day public performances will open at 7 p.m. Friday, March 24. A second performance will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 25. The final community performance will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 26. Students across the school district will be treated to parts of the show in a series of school-day performances the week of March 27.
“Right now, we are just plugging away and cleaning up the things that need to get better,” Puckett added.
The elaborate two-and-a-half-hour production is made possible through an arts-in-school partnership with the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center (SKyPAC)---a partnership funded through a grant to SKyPAC from the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation. The musical is one of several arts education projects provided by SKyPAC which benefit the students of Allen County. Last year, the same partnership allowed Allen County students to present the musical “Mary Poppins.” The partnership also allows students to attend school-day performances at SKyPAC and helped fund the District’s “Certified for Life” music video project in 2015.
Admission to the event is $5 for persons over age five.