Have you ever seen the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz”? Well, imagine the film being a small performance that has a cast ranging from kindergarten to a senior in high school. That is exactly what the Missoula Children’s Theatre hosted and created with the kids within the community of Whitewater.
The Missoula Children’s Theatre is a non-profit organization that tours internationally and works with many kids in different locations with different musicals or theatre productions. They have worked in over 15 countries, all 50 states, 1,000 communities, and work with over 65,000 children each year.
The show “The Wizard of Oz” was put together in five days, from holding auditions to memorizing parts and putting the costumes together. Usually, a play is put together months in advance, but these kids in “The Wizard of Oz” had only five days without any prior knowledge of the performance.
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ is the funniest show ever. Where the kids are having a great time learning their parts and working together. It is also great since the movie ‘Wicked’ came out and the kids already know some of the characters,” said director and tour actor Kassidy Kampmeier.
Missoula Children’s Theatre has been around for 50 years and has done many tours around the country with many different groups of kids. Kampmeier explained that the community should come to see the productions since “The Wizard of Oz” starred 41 local kids who put their effort and energy into making this performance grand and exciting.
“It is very inspiring to see what the children can put together in a small amount of time,” said director and tour actor Maddy Ballard. “When performing with the kids as the scarecrow I had so much fun. The kids involved took the moment and built their characters into what they wanted them to be, the kids improvised a lot on stage and I followed with them.”
In “The Wizard of Oz,” Ballard played both Aunt Em and the Scarecrow, she is seen having a lot of fun with the kids and at times helping them secretly.
“The community should see the show because it is inspiring to see what the children can put together,” Ballard said. “College students should see performances like this since they can be in their bubble on campus and sometimes only focused on what is happening on campus but rarely sees what the community has to offer.”
Kampmeier added that, “College students should see performances like these to see the whole community that surrounds them and you get to see how inspiring the kids can be with putting together a show in five days.”
The performance of “The Wizard of Oz” showed a lot of character through the children in the cast. At many points within the performance, the audience was able to interact w
ith characters in certain scenarios. Times like when the oil loosens the Tin Man or waking the lion, Tin Man, Toto and Dorothy from their slumber in the poppies. There were many references throughout the show and many moments in which the audience laughed, cooed and clapped. By the end of the performance, many children received flowers from their parents, talked with their new or old friends and were beaming with joy.
This isn’t the only performance that The Young hosts this semester, this show was the first of many more to come. To see what performances The Young is hosting next, check out their website.
