Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Greenacres

It's hard to imagine a school that could be better suited to host "Emerald City" than Greenacres Elementary. This year the PTA, in partnership with Sandbox Theatre, produced the Wizard of Oz, performed on January 30 and 31. While the play itself has been shown at the school in the past, this year's approach marked a new, more inclusive approach to the school play focused on learning about theatre.

Traditionally the school has a cast featuring first and second graders in the chorus, with third through fifth grade students auditioning for roles. This year, however, there were two separate productions, with kindergarteners through second graders in a more simplified version, and the older elementary in a slightly longer one. This meant that younger students could be more engaged since everyone had a specific part to play. Rehearsals were also stretched out over four weeks rather than the customary two, so that students could rehearse in a less rushed fashion.

Laura Chavis, who served as play chair for the first time, noted that, "The extended period of rehearsal time allowed children to learn their parts in a more relaxed way, resulting in performances where students truly inhabited and owned their roles. The students worked very hard, and we appreciate all the support the families gave for taking this different approach. Some families had children in both younger and older shows, thus resulting in their attending four performances in two days!"