Weslie Webster is directing “The Wizard of Oz” with 69 children and adult cast members and five back-stage volunteers at the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, Tenn. This musical will run from Jan. 31 to Feb. 21, and is one of the playhouse’s 50th-anniversary productions for 2015.
Webster said, “It’s a blessing – refreshing – the things [children] say. And I love teaching anyway, and they are sponges, so they just pick up everything that you give them. And they’re so full of life and joy, and they’re so quick to suspend their disbelief. They can make -believe anywhere, so it’s really nice to watch that process with them.”
Webster also serves as the Education Director for the Playhouse Triple Threat education program, which includes classes in theater, music and dance. Many of the children in this musical regularly take classes at the playhouse. She said, “[Lenny Lively, the Tin Man,] has been with us for a long time, and that’s really how he learned to tap.”
In an article posted last October on this blog, Webster said that children benefit from participating in fine arts activities in many positive ways. She encourages children with all levels of theater experience to join playhouse productions. Children do not have to enroll in classes at the playhouse to be cast.
Pleasant Hill Elementary (Crossville) student, Taylor Dearman, 8, who plays Toto, has been performing with the playhouse for seven years. She said, “I just like to move and get active and stuff.” To prepare for her role as Dorothy’s dog, she said, “I try to exercise a lot and move my knees because I’m crawling all over during the whole show.”
Another veteran of the playhouse’s community productions is Katey Dailey, a 17-year-old senior at Stone Memorial High School (Crossville). With more than 20 plays to her credit, she is one of two people cast to play the Wicked Witch of the West.
Dailey said, “Rehearsals are amazing. I love being mean. It’s fun. You know, all of the anger from your day – you can come here and … forget about everything for a couple of hours.”
Dailey plans to attend a liberal arts college to study theater arts. She said, “I guess everybody plans to be on Broadway, but … that’s really far away. But I just kind of take it day by day, and I really want to be successful. And I want to be happy with myself and what I’m doing. And I think that’s … how success comes: if you’re happy with yourself and what you’re doing. So I just want to do this. Nothing else.”
Webster said, “Just for ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – because it’s the 50th anniversary season and the playhouse started mentoring to kids … we’ve made it all kids. And there are some roles that are perfect for adult volunteers, so it’s a complete student-volunteer production.”
In 1965, actors Paul and Mary Crabtree moved to rural Crossville, where Mary had family ties. City leaders asked Paul to direct a children’s play, to which community members responded with enthusiasm and requests for more productions. This support raised funds to build the playhouse, now in its 50th season. Their son Jim Crabtree serves as managing director.
The playhouse receives some financial support from sponsors, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. However, it earns 80 percent of its operating costs from ticket sales. At the national level, the majority of theaters cover 52 percent of their expenses from tickets.