Student Blog: Touring for the First Time

Last November, I was cast as "Dorothy" in a production of "The Wizard of Oz" and was told there will be four performances at a local theater during my winter break. Fast forward to now, the shows were successful and we are now on tour.

I began performing in this production with Plaza Theatrical Productions in December of 2021 - during the peak of the Omicron variation of COVID-19. As all theatre lovers know, the pandemic has had a harsh effect on the craft we hold near and dear to our hearts. However, as mandates were lifted and life continued through these difficult times, theaters started to open and actors took the stage.

Our performances in December went very well, and with life returning back to normal, we will now be performing the show, on tour, through June. Since we'll be touring many venues across New York, I will also remain in school so that I can complete my Junior year on time.

Our first tour performance was at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, where we performed two shows in one day. Since this was a new venue for us, we had to adjust our blocking, choreography, and spacing for the set pieces to match the much larger stage we were now standing on. The microphones from the theater were also available to us and we performed with them. Overall, the theater was booming with excitement and the shows were successful.

I've portrayed the role of Dorothy before, in my high school musical and at the Roger Rees Awards as a finalist. However, there was something extra special about playing the role at the St. George Theatre. Performing there was the first time, in what feels like a lifetime, where I've seen an audience without masks. Watching the smiles on faces while being able to stand on such a magnificent stage felt magical. Throughout the performances, the audience was extremely responsive and engaging, which made it much more enjoyable. Also, I was finally able to do a "Meet and Greet" after each show. There were many families who wanted pictures with us and the little children seemed awestruck and didn't know what to say when they met us. I even had the pleasure of posing for pictures with some adorable young girls who were dressed as Dorothy too.

Seeing that I'm going to be spending the next few months working on this production, I look forward to our upcoming shows and for the different responses from each audience. After everything we had to endure from this pandemic, I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity and will continue to bring this story to life.

While this has and will continue to be a crazy semester for me, I would not have wanted it any other way. I'm so glad that I can continue with my studies while performing on tour and can't wait to bring this story to more audiences.

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