Steps To The Stage
Steps To The Stage
The Wizard of Oz: Kids Rise To The Occasion
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A one-week turnaround, 14 scenes, and 31 kids ranging from age five to eighteen, this Wizard of Oz production is the kind of challenge that reveals what community theatre is really made of. We sit down with members of the production team to share the behind-the-scenes decisions that turn a beloved classic into a live show, even when the schedule is tight and the cast includes plenty of first timers. Along the way, we keep coming back to a simple truth we see in rehearsal: kids rise to the occasion when the adults around them build the right support.
We talk music direction in detail, from adapting 1930s-era vocal writing to modern young voices to finding smart ways to teach skills inside the daily warm-up. You’ll hear how limited rehearsal time changes everything, why chorus parts can be surprisingly tricky for today’s kids, and what it looks like when young performers commit, practice, and start stacking those “light bulb” moments night after night.
On the movement side, we dig into choreography for mixed skill levels, how to teach singing while dancing without losing breath and tone, and how costumes can create real safety considerations when you’re adding tricks, lifts, and character movement. Then we go deep on production design: with only a week to build, the set becomes a blank canvas for projections, and we share how projection mapping and volunteer ingenuity help create Oz onstage without endless scene changes.
Grab your tickets, support your local theater, and if you like what you hear, follow the show, share this episode, and leave us a five-star rating and review so more theater fans can find Steps to the Stage.
July 17th through August 8th
Chino Community Children's Theatre – It's Great to Be Back!
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Welcome And Oz History
SPEAKER_00Well, the the exciting thing is that kids are magical beings no matter what we're offering or expecting of them. They rise to the occasion and they have done that with this show.
SPEAKER_04Welcome to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street community theater podcast. Hey there, theater friends. Welcome to Steps to the Stage, where we talk to the theater professionals you know and love. Today we are so excited to talk to some of the production team from uh the upcoming Wizard of Oz production that will be here at the 7th Street Theater, 7th Street, 7th Street Community Theater here in beautiful Chino, California. Um, welcome back.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. It's great to be back.
SPEAKER_04Today we have uh Jesse, Mandy, and Sebastian here to talk to us a little bit about this beloved production that has, I think, been in most everyone's radar for years upon years. Whether you saw the original film back in the 30s, probably you didn't see it back in the 30s, but it was created back in the 30s or any of the adaptations. And then up to the current day where Wicked has really kind of taken over in such a positive way. And I have I have quoted Wicked in the sense that I think it's one of those, along with Hamilton and others, that have just really brought theater to uh much more of a broader audience. So, so which is great, but then it could also be very difficult. So I'm gonna go through a little bit of history of the Wizard of Oz from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that came out in 1900, written by L. Frank Baum. Uh, the movie was in 1939, uh, produced by MGM. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning Best Song and also Score. Um, Judy Garland received an Academy Junior Award. And then, as we talked about, the Wiz and Wicked, and then this particular The Wizard of Oz musical, My Information shows adapted by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Jesse, did I get all my information correct?
SPEAKER_01You got it. It's RSC, I think in 1988 is when they did like this uh adaptation, or that's the version that I've been listening to from the London cast. And they were just very invested in bringing the original music from the movie to life on stage. And I think that the beautiful thing about it is that they added a lot of heart to the storyline. And there are so many opportunities for you to see the tale that you know and love, but then to have these aha moments where you just get a little more backstory or a little extra, you know, Easter egg of information that new audiences are going to want from an old story, but it's still the classic tale that everyone wants.
SPEAKER_04That's wonderful.
Music Direction And Kid Voices
SPEAKER_04And so we're gonna move over to Mandy. Welcome. This is your first time on the podcast. We're so glad to have you here. And I just have to say we love your family and all the involvement that you and your family have. I know my family speaks very highly and dearly of you guys. So thank you. I'm so happy to have you on the podcast.
SPEAKER_00I'm glad to be here.
SPEAKER_04Tell us a little bit about your role within the production.
SPEAKER_00I am the music director for Wizard of Oz. Um, it is my first experience as a music director for community theater. Um, I have a professional background, but not at a community theater level. So I'm thrilled to be here and work with the kids.
SPEAKER_04Well, tell us a little bit about that background.
SPEAKER_00Um, my master's is in opera, and I was an adjunct professor for the University of Texas for a short period of time in the undergraduate opera program.
SPEAKER_04Oh my goodness. Well, I love learning these things about people that I've known for a while, and you find out about these, uh, you know, their experiences and and especially that you can bring it to our stage and help this production out. So um thus far, has it been tell me a little bit about it? I know you guys have had, you know, some obstacles to overcome, and you're gonna had to come together um as a group, as we always have to in the in these productions. Um, but being a first timer, tell us a little bit more about the experience thus far.
SPEAKER_00Well, the the exciting thing is that kids are magical beings no matter what we're offering or expecting of them. They rise to the occasion and they have done that with this show. Um, the music obviously was written long ago in the 1930s and in a time period where kids and adults sing more comfortably at a different pitch level than we do now. And they've had to really kind of work to to get up there uh to be comfortable in a different range. And they've done really well. They've they've shown a lot of excitement and um they're they sound really good.
SPEAKER_04Well, I first want to thank you for giving us our intro to the podcast because your description of the kids right there might just be what we put on the uh, you know, our overall podcast description because the kids are magical, and I think the reason why we come back um over and over to do these, uh bring these productions to stage.
Co-Choreographing With Young Dancers
SPEAKER_04Sebastian, welcome. Hello. First time, but I know you have a long history here, um, not only with the mini productions that you've been in, um, you also have been doing great work at your high school that you I think just graduated from. And I know I've come and seen a number of different productions here, and I know you were involved with the all-star troupe that was here, the superstars.
SPEAKER_01And and assistant directed last year with me for Molehill Stories.
SPEAKER_04Oh, okay, that's great. So, welcome to the podcast. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your involvement and experience thus far?
SPEAKER_02Of course. So I am co-choreographing with um Miss Pyle or Miss Jesse. Um we we like either or both. Um and so how I got onto this project, it was about a month ago, maybe three weeks ago. Um, Ms. Jesse just reached out to me and was all like, Are you busy this summer? And I was like, No. And so she um she presented this opportunity, and I of course jumped on it, not only for the experience, but because Ms. Jesse has helped me so much that I wanted to um help her out in any way that I can.
SPEAKER_04Um that's fantastic. Um and tell me again what your role is in with the production. I am the co-choreographer. Co-choreograph, okay.
SPEAKER_01Um and let's be honest, Sebastian has amazing talent in dance. And what, you did eight years of like dance training or yeah, about maybe okay, uh, when he was younger. And when I met him as a freshman, you know, he he had never done drama or anything like that. But the second he came alive on stage, I was like, How have you never performed? And he was like, Well, I was in dance, I performed as a dancer, and this kid has so many talents that are just hidden inside. And now I can't say kid anymore, but now he's off to Fullerton and he's gonna just continue to wow everybody. But his choreography in this show is impeccable, and the kids love working with these two, they are top-notch, and they're getting a world-class uh experience this summer.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and that's fantastic. And thank you so much, Sebastian, for sharing that. And um, I will say, and and Gush as well, I've been a longtime admirer, enjoyed all of the productions that I've had um uh the the fortunate opportunity to see, and you bring a great energy to the stage. Thank you. Um, and I think that's important. Yes, you're a great actor, a great singer, all those things, but you bring a great energy, and I think that's so important. And um, I really, really love that you are sharing the pay it forward and the giving it back, you know, because I think that is so important. We we discussed that a lot here, and we were talking a little bit before we started recording about you know the number of kids, mine included, that have, you know, have come back here and they're directing and they're they're helping out in a variety of different um uh variety of different ways outside of just acting. So it's great to see that you know now I'm seeing that next generation, as it were, and have kids that are involved. And and I also love seeing new faces, right? Because I get the chance to to speak with you know uh different teams of part of the different productions that come through here, and it's great to see new faces and to know I know your background, Sebastian, but I hadn't heard about yours, and so that's just fantastic.
Cast Size And Wide Skill Levels
SPEAKER_04So Wizard of Oz, I have to imagine it's a pretty good sized cast.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we have 31 kids in the cast.
SPEAKER_04Okay, and the age range.
SPEAKER_01The age range is the youngest is my son, yes, but James. Oh, yes. Uh so he's five now, and the eldest is 18. Maybe they've had a birthday, but I think they're 18.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04And and I imagine you have a variety of different experience levels from brand new to uh like your son, who even though he's only five, this is goodness gracious. Yeah, he is totally a veteran.
SPEAKER_01So we have a lot of newbies in this show, and we have a good number of people who have a considerable amount of experience too. It's a really nice mixture. Um, and the most fascinating part of it is to me that the leads of the show, I mean, combined, they probably have less than two years of theatrical experience. And so that in a nutshell is the blessing of the show and the aha moments and the light bulb moments. They're gonna continue through the run of this production. And also the biggest of challenges for someone with world-class education like Miss Mandy or Sebastian, who's used to maybe people who have had a lot of dance classes or things like that, not necessarily with this group. So it's just a really interesting, raw uh core. And what a fascinating way to approach this show.
SPEAKER_04And and with that, Mandy, tell me, because you do have varying levels, um, tell us a little bit about your preparation going into it and then how you're dealing with once you get that, okay. Now I know what I have, and I have, you know, X amount of time to get it to where I can get it to. Tell us a little bit about that process.
Building Skills With Tight Rehearsals
SPEAKER_00Um, our time is really limited, especially when we're sharing as much as we can to get them ready as quickly as possible. Um, and our time was even cut a little short this summer. Um, for me, what I try to do is I'm gonna warm them up every day anyway. Yeah. So I try to build into my warm-up what I would need to teach separately so that when I'm warming up, they're actually working on skills that we need.
SPEAKER_04And do you do they have homework per se?
SPEAKER_00They do, but I don't think they do it. It's summer. Come on, man. We got pools, we got classes.
SPEAKER_04Yes, this is true.
SPEAKER_00I've made a lot of tracks for them to practice, but I I don't have any system to see how many downloads I have, but I think it's minimal.
SPEAKER_04And what about the progress?
SPEAKER_00Uh they actually are doing really well. I um one of our biggest, my biggest concerns from before casting was what we were gonna do with the girls' chorus, because in the 1930s, a chorus was not a big deal. It was a it was a common thing to find. Where now we have a group of kids that I have only a handful that even know what to do and acquire or what harmony is. And so it's been a little tricky to figure out what are we gonna do with the girls' chorus? Like, do we get rid of it? But we didn't. We had a a group of uh, there's really only four of them, five, four, five, four of them. And they're young, you know, they're 10, 11, 12, they're pretty young, but they're they've come together and learned to like, they're not singing in harmony, but they're singing these parts that are not easy. Um, they've worked a lot, they they've come early before everybody else and and worked with me. They're willing to work for brownies sometimes.
SPEAKER_04Hey, you know, we have to do what it takes to get there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Sebastian, um, I guess similar question, having a variety of different um levels of experience. Um, tell me about that process and you and and how you're managing it as you go along.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So I mean, definitely choreographing, that's one of the biggest things that you have to figure out is what are these different levels and um and when I went in, um, I already had, you know, this kind of idea for my choreo, and it was a little ambitious. Um but there's nothing wrong with that, by the way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I think we all start there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, of course. These kids were so eager though. Um, you know, I I would say, who who knows tricks? All of them would raise their hand, who wants to do this, who wants to do that. Um, and so it was such um an amazing experience to see that and um see them want to, you know, experiment with all of these dance moves. And so how I manage the different skill levels is I mean, like um Miss Mandy said, uh she'll warm them up, I'll also warm them up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um I kind of like have the same routine. So um even if I'm not there for some reason, hopefully they'll be doing that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, and we record all of the dance moves, so hopefully, you know, they're practicing at home. Yeah. I can definitely tell you that I have seen firsthand people learning from them. So that's awesome to see. Yeah, that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_04And so also singing and dancing, yeah, walking and chewing gum sometimes can be a very difficult thing. How does the group manage that?
SPEAKER_00I like to rehearse them go while they're doing their choreo. Even if they're working just with me, I'll make them do choreo and then give them music feedback at the same time.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, because that I have to imagine it really impacts obviously your your breath and your your exerting that energy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, energy, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I as a singer, I I I know if I'm a little too active on stage, it can it can impact how I'm singing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I I gave them the tip to um because I've definitely done this to run and sing. I think it was Beyonce maybe who used to run on her treadmill and sing. Um so I don't know if she's okay.
SPEAKER_04I've I've heard she's done some things. This Beyoncé person.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. You might try to get her on your own podcast.
SPEAKER_04We're working on it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04That's
Singing While Dancing Tips
SPEAKER_04fantastic. Um, Jesse, uh, let's
Set Design Under One Week
SPEAKER_04hear a little bit. I know I was here yesterday. We were working on some tech things, and you were working on projections. Let's talk a little bit about the set.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yes. So normally in community theater during the summer, we have a lot of shows going on. Yeah. And so there's usually like a two-week turnaround or a three-week turnaround in between shows so we can do like a nice big set build and get everything in place. Well, this show had a one-week turnaround. So uh last week was our only build week.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And we just had to have a big dose of reality when we were doing our planning. So um, as much as this show has, I think they have 14 different uh places in the script that exist, right? So it's 14 different settings. And uh with the ideas that were coming in, there was a whole lot of like, okay, we'll move this truck on and this truck off. A truck is a platform that's on wheels to move this truck on, move this truck off. And I I'm just not a person who loves watching scene changes unless they're impeccably done. And with one week, it's not really easy to do that and rehearse that in the space. So I talked to my set designers uh who were um they're former students of mine, um, not from uh school, but from the theater. So we have Natalia Elizalde and Jack Mayo or Mayo, Mayo or Mayo. Anyway, Jack, you know I love you, but I forget if you like to say Mayor or Mayo. Anyway, you're delicious. Um, so they they were working on the artistry and they came to my house with these beautiful, like Natalia hand painted some things, Jack had done digital drawings of things, and I'm like, guys, you already did it. And they said, What do you mean? And I said, This is what needs to go up on the walls. You have like all of these different ideas for all of these different places, and we have flat surfaces. Why are we not just projecting them on the walls? And they said, Wait, we can do that. We were worried about our paints budget going over the top because we have all these different colors. And I'm like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So I had to learn projections. Um, and uh, so I've learned how to do projection mapping in the past week.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And uh not an easy thing to do being in the industry.
SPEAKER_01I'm not gonna pat myself on the back, but uh I am doing a really I'm doing a really good job at faking it until I make it. And it's going to work as well as it'll work, and I'm teaching myself as I go, and that's okay. Plus, I have an amazing brother who's up in Seattle at UW and he does this all the time. And so I've given him a couple phone calls, um, and that's been great. Um, but their artwork, it it's worth the price of admission.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Who's uh kind of in charge of the set? Is there someone in particular that you've looked to for the build?
SPEAKER_01Brian Go did the build, but really it was based on the back of what um Mickey uh Istria had worked on for something rotten. Yeah. And so really we just used what we had and made some minor tweaks and updates.
SPEAKER_04So Brian's gonna be used again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the proscenium has a beautiful rainbow on it. Um we are we are ready to go over the rainbow. So Brian did a great job uh along with AJ, uh, who helped him out a lot, and uh, you know, other other fathers, Nick Tully and Liam Tully. So anyway, they they all came together and they really helped out a lot. Um, but the set is really just a blank canvas for these beautiful projections and our super talented kids. So hopefully people will love it. It's it's not um bells and whistlesy until you see it in action. Yeah. Um, that's a new term, bells and whistles-y.
SPEAKER_04Uh I I think uh Miriam West Webster actually has that already listed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's the new word of the year.
SPEAKER_04If not, we'll we'll put an official filing for it.
Projection Mapping And Volunteer Crew
SPEAKER_04Um let's talk a little bit about costumes.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So uh speaking of Elizalde's, uh the uh Eli Zalde family has been busy. So Lily, Liliana Elizalde, uh designed the costumes for this show. And we were lucky enough to borrow a few costumes from Montclair High School because their wonderful theater program there just did this. And um Karen Larson, my mama, and Kathy Miller uh both helped out with legendary, like the legendary costume. The many, many monkeys that needed to be made because the original production and Montclair, I think, had four monkeys, and we have 11. Oh, good. Uh, but 12 because one of them put their shirts into their bag, and so my mom made an extra shirt. Uh it's very fun. Uh, so they're very, very cool. Uh again, everything about this show uh and the designs and the concepts of this show began before I was the director of this show. And so um stepping into someone else's shoes and trying to help fulfill their vision while still having ownership of it has been a real, a real learning uh challenge for me, but also very rewarding at the same time.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I have to imagine. And I think this is just the perfect example of just needing that village to come together and and help with everything. So going back to the costumes, I'm gonna look to uh Mandy and Sebastian, like costume impacting our choreography and singing, maybe. I I uh I know I've been in a few productions where you know we had to do quite a bit of of movement and there was some restrictions going on. So talk to me a little bit about that. I know that has to be something you think about.
SPEAKER_02So the costumes were happening while I ready choreographed like the thing, so I didn't know like what the uh costumes look like, so I was a little nervous. Um the Tin Man has this
Costumes, Safety, And Dance Tricks
SPEAKER_02like puffer jacket, okay, and I do have to say there are quite a few tricks, and so safety was one of the biggest things for me. Um so with lift call, I had them do it in costuming, and you know it actually went a lot better than I had in my mind, thankfully.
SPEAKER_01Um and also the Jitterbugs to that one lime green dress. Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um and the jitterbugs also have antennas, so that was like a little issue when we're trying to do the the tricks, um, just getting like arms over them to like press. For some flips.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um but we worked around it. Um I showed them like how their arms should be, how it could safely go around them without it hurting them or without encountering any issues. But yeah.
SPEAKER_04Great, great, great. Um let's this is something that uh just as of I would say the last couple episodes, and I'm sorry that I haven't highlighted it before, but we need to talk a little bit about producer and who's working house, and because without that and without your without your uh, you know, the the sales
Producers, Sold-Out Shows, And Tickets
SPEAKER_04of whether it's the raffles or anything, who who's helping with all that? I know Mandy, I see you out there quite a bit with some of the other shows, so um, so tell us a little bit about Mandy's doing everything.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm just kidding. Um, so so our producers are Kim Goad and Stephanie Anderson. Okay. And they're doing a marvelous job. They have parents in line, they have kids in line, and uh, they're doing a great job of just handling everything and checking in with us really regularly on you know, plans for every single day, really. And we're obviously very lucky to have two people working on this show in that capacity. They're doing a great job. And then we've got the marvelous Debbie Barbon as our house manager. And she just informed us that our opening weekend is sold out, aside from two seats on Sunday.
SPEAKER_03Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01So by the time you're listening to this, uh sold out. Uh so please get your tickets if you haven't gotten them yet because we will sell. Um, and so that's wonderful. And our front of house goodies like raffle and uh just the front of house design are all done by parents, and they're just having so much fun coming up with all the different ideas. We also have two assistant directors for this show that I would be remiss to leave out. Um we have Jen Navarres, who has always been a parent and fabulous photographer of our uh shows, and she's also worked on the website, I believe. And so she is stepping in to uh uh assist and also just learn the trade, and she's coming up with some great ideas, and we have uh Andrea Salz, who is doing uh a wonderful job assistant directing it as well. And uh uh I've had a really good time working with both of them on coming up with new ideas and also being able to divvy up because there's a lot going on in this show.
SPEAKER_04Well, I know some of the names that you've mentioned I've interacted with on other episodes, whether it be at uh the high schools that they're involved in or other programs within uh our theater here that they've been involved with. And then having two newbies here, I think it really speaks to the importance of getting everybody involved. And it's fantastic to hear that your first weekend is sold out, and I know the other ones will sell out soon. So for those of you that are listening, you need to get on board and get your tickets right away. You can, of course, call the box office at 909-590-1149, or you can go to our website or go to our socials and you can get the links to get your tickets as well. Um, so that's important that you get that out there and support all of all of the theaters. We say this every episode, whether it's your kindergarten production that's going on, whether it's a community theater production, regional or Broadway, or you're just watching it uh on TV, support the theater however you
Support The Theater And Closing Thanks
SPEAKER_04can. And what you can do to help support us as well, if you're enjoying what you're listening to, send us a note. There's uh um abilities through our socials and through our website to be able to reach out to Steps to the Stage. If you're enjoying what you're hearing, write us a review, whether it's on your favorite podcast platform, on our Facebook page, give us a five-star rating. That really helps us get out there. We talked about the last on the last episode, we've had some pretty good international reach. So we're really excited about that. We love giving this platform to all of you. Thank you so much, you guys, for spending some time with us. I know we're in tech week. Yes, we're opening up soon. Um, sounds like we've got a good first full weekend. Um, thank you, Mandy. Thank you, Sebastian, for being on the program for the first time. And I look forward to hopefully talking to you in the future, um, directing your own shows or doing your own things. And and of course, we want to support that. Thank you, Jesse, as always. You're such a wonderful person for theater in general, but for this theater and uh all these people here obviously are here because of what you bring. So thank you so much. Because I know you've got a few other things going on in your life as well, um, and you have wonderful support.
SPEAKER_01So yes. One interesting thing, right before I came in to record this podcast, I found a note because I had to figure out how to start my car because my car was uh not starting. And I found a note that said, You got this queen, love Isaiah Ruiz. And I wanted to say that we love you, Isaiah, and he is with us every step along this way.
SPEAKER_04Fantastic. Thank you, everyone. You guys have a fantastic week, and we look forward to seeing this production and all of you out there listening. Please get your tickets as soon as you can. Take care, everyone.
SPEAKER_02Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_04Bye-bye. Thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street Community Theater podcast. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review and a five-star rating. It really helps. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Special thanks to Chino Community Theater and Chino Community Children's Theater for their generous support. And very special thank you to the listeners. Step to the stage was created by Joey Rice and Kirk Lane. Logo created by Marley Lane. Original music by Joey Rice. Your host, Kirk Lane. Engineer and producer, Joey Rice. Engineer and executive producer, Kirk Lane.
