Hi Y’all!
Welcome to my blog series for Asheville Community Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz! In celebration of the movie’s 80th Anniversary that took place earlier this week, Asheville Community Theatre will take you all the way from Kansas, down the yellow brick road, and all the way to the Wizard while meeting all of those wonderful, and wicked, characters that you’ve known all these years. Whether you were a part of the first group of people to see the amazing Technicolor spectacle in the theatres in 1939, or watching it on the stage will be your first journey with Dorothy and her friends, this production is sure to leave you with happy memories and have you humming the tune “We’re off to see the wizard” as you skip out of the theatre!
This blog will be a way for me to kind of pull back the curtain and let you all see what we are doing to prepare for the show and what is happening once the show starts. Throughout the series I will be introducing you to the different people who work with the show, those you will see performing for you on stage as well as those who work behind the scenes, and even under the stage, to make it all happen. I will have interviews with actors and directors and even office staff for insight about what goes into making a show! Along with the blog I will attempt to have a video that shows what we have been doing throughout the week, meeting people involved, getting a sneak peek into what happens backstage, and how different people prepare for a show.
A bit about the author of the blog. My name is John O’Neil and I have lived in Asheville for the last five years, coming to the area from my hometown, Fayetteville, NC. I grew up in a theatre loving family. My entire family (Mother, Deborah, my late Father, Fred, and Sisters, Angela and Katie) did shows together before I was born. I have had the honor of sharing the stage with Momma O’Neil on two occasions and have been directed by my sister Katie for a number of productions when I was in high school. I came to Asheville to study Drama at UNC Asheville, concentrating on stage management and lighting and sound, and just stayed in the area working at the University and being a part of the Asheville theatre scene since. I have worked as both an actor and a professional Stage manager. This is my second show on stage at ACT having performed in Footloose earlier this year. I am so very happy to return to this stage, and sharing it with many talented actors and being in the direction of Jerry Crouch (Director), Sarah Fowler (Music Director), and Alexa Edelman (Choreographer). You will be introduced to the creative team and actors throughout the blog series.
This is not my first time doing The Wizard of Oz. In fact, this is my FOURTH time with this show! It can be dated all the way back to my very first show when I was in 4th grade and played the Wizard.
Then in high school I was a stage hand working backstage at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, NC. It was such a fun experience being able to work backstage for such a big production of the show. Then in 2014 I played the Tinman at Harnett Regional Theatre in Dunn, NC. I never thought I would ever play that role, but it was so fun and stretched me as an actor to play him.
But now, the fourth time I am in this show, I FINALLY get to play the role of my favorite character in the movie. I’ve always loved the Cowardly Lion. I don’t know if I love him so much because of his voice, or his mannerisms, or how much he is welcomed by the others even though he is scared of EVERYTHING, or if it’s because of the song “If I were King.” Whatever the reason is, I’ve always wanted to play him in this show. I’d say that it has been a bucket list role for me, and this is the first time I’ve ever been able to cross one of those roles off of my list.
We’ve had our first week of rehearsals and I am already having such great fun with this cast! This show is going to be so good with the combination of talent on the stage, the directing team, and the AMAZING designers we have (Jill Summers, set, Carina Lopez, costumes, Rob Bowen, lights, Adam Cohen, sound, Ron Whittemore, sound mixing, and Jean Fullbright, props) making us look and sound great!
The show runs from October 4th – 27th. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30p, with Sunday shows starting at 2:30p. Thursdays shows (October 17th & 24th) also starts at 7:30p. Theatre doors open 30 minutes before the show starts and there is a great selection at our concession stand! To buy tickets, and for further information, please visit their website http://ashevilletheatre.org/events/the-wizard-of-oz/
If you want to ask me a question at anytime during these next 12 weeks or so about ANYTHING pertaining to the show (rehearsals, backstage info, life in the theatre, etc.) feel free to comment to the blog, or send a question to me on twitter @theonejohno with the #AskTheWizard and we will try to answer them!
I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will and I will see you all on the yellow brick road!