A bit of history was made last Saturday when students at William B. Ward Elementary School staged the school’s first theater production, putting on two performances of “The Wizard of Oz.”
“We wanted Ward students to have a live theater performance experience, so we partnered with KJK Productions, which provides the directors, sets and costumes and production aspects of the show,” said PTA member Brittany Guzinski who was the parent coordinator for the show alongside Bryan Grossbauer.
“Parent volunteers from the PTA handle the rest. We’re fortunate to have some really dedicated PTA parents who are eager to help in any way they can: pinning costumes, writing playbill bios, assisting the directors at rehearsals and generally doing anything and everything behind the scenes,” said Mrs/ Guzinski. Siobhan O’Connor was the costume leader.
The production involved 67 students in grades 3 through 5 participating in the chorus, cast, and stage crew.
Parent volunteers worked to make the experience authentic, right down to a Broadway-caliber playbill. “We really wanted students to feel celebrated and feel the true theatre experience, so we worked with Davis parent Danielle Galvin to create merchandise for the show as well as the playbill,” said Mrs. Guzinski.
The PTA also partnered with local business Paper Bag Cookies to create beautiful custom cookies for the show.
“Dorothy may have said that ‘there’s no place like home,’ but we hope that you’ll agree there’s truly no place like Ward school, thanks to our amazing students, staff, and families,” said principal Franco Miele in a letter in the Playbill.