Last Friday, March 25, the theater class at RCHS displayed their year of hard work through performing the Wizard of Oz. Each standing ovation was an understatement to the hard work these students put in. While the play was a success and was enjoyed by many, did it receive enough support from the school and community to continue next year? Will there be enough interest to keep this program going? Is it worth another long year of work? 

As a student in this class, I can personally say that it was an exhausting year of work. Between daily run throughs and constant stage configurations, it was always an adventure. However, while each day brought many challenges, I learned a lot through this course.

 I enjoyed working with a wide variety of students along with the director and musical conductor, Mrs. Allen and Ms. Fitz. These two lovely ladies had a mission to make each individual actor feel invested in this performance and pushed us to do our best. As we were constantly told, “every individual is a main character.” They did a fantastic job in making everyone feel like they were an essential piece of the puzzle. In addition, I was really impressed with the level of creative freedom we were given throughout this year. This aspect made this class very enjoyable and created a fun atmosphere for the students. 

This class was well received by the students and saw a lot of student interest for next year. 

Sophomore Libba Erskine said, “I really want to participate in theater next year. I’m really passionate about the musical arts.”

At the end of the day, whether theater is your thing or not, anyone can appreciate or benefit from the values and morals taught in this class. While this class was not what I expected, I had a lot of fun creating this play and adding my own touch to the performance. I believe that it is essential to move forward with this theater program so we can continue to push our students out of their comfort zones and give them their opportunity to shine.