Freedom Drama Club “brought the house down” as they performed “The Wizard of Oz” April 10, 11, 12 and 13. This year, a Thursday show was added compared to past years because tickets sold out so fast for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows.
“When I started directing, there were only two shows,” Director Keith Kovalic said. When the audiences started to grow, a third show was added, and this year, a fourth. This can be attributed to the popularity of the show, as well as the enlarged cast size.
Many of the students were excited about the outcome of the play.
“It was really successful compared to what we had the night before the show; everyone worked hard and performed to the best of their ability. It was my first time being in a musical, but I thought [the performances] were great,” Junior Lane Mankevich, who played the role of an Ugly Tree, said.
Junior Robbie Raso, the Cowardly Lion, agreed. “I was very satisfied with the outcome of the musical and was proud of everyone for working so hard. How much fun we have [determines the success of the musical]; some audiences can be more receptive than others, but if the cast knows we put on a good show, then we were successful,” Raso said.
Raso explained that despite the lack of previous experiences from some of the cast and crew, the stage performance was improved because it inspired them to do better.
From the cast’s perspective, the show was highly successful. “I think the overall outcome of success depends on how well [the shows go] and everyone having fun,” Senior Shelby Miller, who depicted Aunt Em, said.
Over 30 students from the elementary and middle schools were added to the show as munchkins, Ozians, flying monkeys and jitterbugs, which not only increased the amount of practice, but also advertisement, ticket and Cash Bash sales.
From a financial standpoint, the goal isn’t to have fun, but rather to properly budget money towards different aspects of the production. As “The Wizard of Oz” is highly popular, it was likely to be successful, but the overall production “exceeded expectations,” Kovalic said.
Costs of the musical at Freedom includes lighting, sound and projector fees, adding up to over $15,000, which includes some of the costs to hire the people running the operations. This money is not given to the club by the school district—it is student-raised funds.
“The goal is to have our own [lighting and sound systems]. It would save money and make things easier,” Production Coordinator Anna Maria Folmar said.
Owning their own equipment would allow for students to learn about the technology and be able to run it without payment, in addition to relieving the worries of balancing a tight budget.
Including the team-teaching room seats, there are 700 seats in the auditorium, and for three nights, those seats can bring in close to $19,000, but by adding the fourth show, an additional $6,000 can be profited from ticket sales alone. However, that money goes towards lumber for sets, paint, batteries for wireless microphones, costumes, etc. which can easily eat up the hard earned money the cast has earned from their fund raising events.
Though some can get lost in the cost of putting on a production because of the large price tag, when you have the brains, heart and courage to create the musical atmosphere, there’s no place like home, and to the drama club, that is the stage.