Patriot Players performed their spring musical, “The Wizard of Oz,” in the auditorium between Apr. 3 and Apr. 6, after months of practice and preparation.
The Patriot Players devoted immense time and effort to making sure the performance went exactly as planned, from sound and tech, to singing and dancing. In the most intense times, students stayed after school until 8 p.m. rehearsing. “Preparing for a show is definitely a whole world within itself. It’s a very large feat and our rehearsal started in January giving us three months before the show in April,” senior Anna Lizondo said.
After a long period of preparation and a weaker rehearsal of the play in the days leading up to the showings, nerves and excitement were present in Lizondo and in other members of the production team. “I was feeling really jittery and nervous but once I got on there and I just started really trying to own the character and be in the moment, all sense of nerves went away,” Lizondo said.
The Patriot Players have received praise from students, parents and teachers who got a chance to attend the showings. “We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from peers and teachers who came to see the show. It’s just such a nice thing to hear, especially after putting so much work into trying to make it the best that it can be for everyone to see and enjoy,” Lizondo said.
At the conclusion of the play, cast members took a moment to tell the audience how vital the theatre department is to the school community. They encouraged the audience to take theatre electives and support productions to allow the department to continue to provide social and academic opportunities to students. “The theater community…makes for a really unique group of people and it allows a big high school like Wootton to feel more small…and more connected. I also think it allows for our school to have a nice change from the normal academic pressures,” Lizondo said.
Juniors Maxwell Scherr and Shreyas Ganeshan were two Patriot Ambassadors who volunteered to help out with the play by welcoming guests, checking tickets and handing out programs. “It was a great experience to help usher and then get to watch the play,” Ganeshan said.
After the doors to the auditorium closed, Scherr and Ganeshan had the opportunity to watch the play and were impressed by the set design, acting and overall commitment to the production. “I thought it was really well done. I thought the acting was great and the props were really cool, specifically the Wizard of Oz mask,” Scherr said.
Students said they believed the Patriot Players performance of “The Wizard of Oz” was a great success that allowed them to enjoy a more fun, less academic aspect of school and make long lasting memories. “Performing a whole show was…one of the greatest highlights of my time in high school,” Lizondo said.
