The Wizard of Oz Rehearsals | Week Two

As we prepare to present our next Made at Curve musical, The Wizard of Oz, De Montfort University Journalism student Courtney Stevens takes us behind-the-scenes with a look at how the show is shaping up in rehearsals.

Going into the third week of rehearsals things are really starting to take shape. The production is really starting to come together and rehearsals are becoming so much fun to watch.

This week focused on the dancing and singing involved in the show which really helps bring the story to life. The excitement and energy was radiating off the cast as I entered the room.

When watching a musical on stage I am always in awe of how effortless and easy the actors make it look. When in reality it takes years of practice and hours of rehearsals leading up to the show to get the performances perfected. The cast have to work really hard on their stamina to keep up with the choreography all while singing at the same time. It never really occurred to me how much of a workout performing can be.

As music blasted out of the speakers everyone was lead through a 30 minute body and vocal warm up. After completing the challenging body warm up, harmonies immediately filled the room as people began to warm up their voices. Watching everyone having so much fun room made it hard not to get up and join in myself!

With only a couple of weeks until the first show the focus was obvious on everyone’s faces. Throughout the warm-up the cast were constantly being encouraged by the choreographer, Shay Barclay, who was shouting out things like “It’s week three so let’s work harder, let’s push harder”. He was motivating them so that the show will be the best it can be.

“It’s a lot of work but I enjoy it,” said Christina Shand, a swing in the cast, “Everyone is doing different things at different times and it’s my job to keep track of it all.”

Even though the job can be challenging it’s easy to see why they all do it. The end result must be so rewarding.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic show and I can’t wait to see what else the cast and crew will bring to the story. I think this is one the audiences will love.

Running 19 November to 8 January, click here to find out more and book tickets to The Wizard of Oz.

Lead image: Andrew Patrick-Walker (Munchkin Vicar), Ben Thompson (Toto), Georgina Onuorah (Dorothy), Natasha Mould (Ensemble) – Photography by Marc Brenner