This week was an absolute rollercoaster of events.  People are starting to be called to practice longer, and the principle characters are beginning to block important scenes.  Nights have been long, but Oreos, granola bars, and good company kept the actors happy.  Practices have never been better.

On Monday, Sept. 26 we finished blocking the Munckinland sequence.  The lollypop guild and lullaby league are now in place, and Copeland has changed a few things to the classic scene.  Rapping munchkins now enter the stage and perform a unique dance, and hippie munchkins celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.  As mentioned before, there are special differences between the stage production and the movie.  You will have to come and see for yourself; you will be surprised.

Tuesday, Sept. 27 was a hectic day.  People were all over the place learning various dances.  Winkie warriors had to practice their dance again, perfecting the spear march and adding the general, senior Connor Bickle, into the dance.  He has to pass out spears and make sure all the soldiers stay in line.  Double-casted actors had to switch back and forth between learning different things.  After practicing the Winkie dance, I had to go learn the Ozian dance, then learn the King of the Forest number.

Wednesday, Sept. 28 was a long night for the leads.  We had to arrive at 3:30 to start on the “Merry Old Land of Oz” number.  The guards worked on the beginning, and then the rest of the leads worked with the Ozian dancers on another dance routine.  Some actors have to learn more dances than others.  The double casted actors have to perform multiple roles.  On the night they aren’t a principle, they may be dancing as a Munchkin, Ozian, or Winkie warrior.  For example, I have to perform six different dances because I play the lion, a Munchkin, a tornado dancer, and a Winkie warrior.

The remainder of the week the actors will polish up Munchkinland and a few other dances, and the director will work with the leads on “If I Only Had the Nerve.”  On Saturday, Oct. 1 actors will come early in the morning to work on the tornado sequence.  The tornado will be built and the scene will be ready for blocking.  Some things are still being polished, but most of the scene has been planned out.  Audiences will be flabbergasted at the work we put into this show.  Keep checking back every Thursday for updates from the Oz blog.