WSC Children's Show Marks 50th Anniversary

[updated 4-29-2008]

Wayne State College theater students continued a longtime tradition in April with the performance of "The Magical Land of Oz." This year marked the 50th anniversary of the annual children's show. School children from throughout Northeast Nebraska made the trip to the college’s Ramsey Theatre during the week of April 3-10.

Previous student casts have presented Oz for WSC children's theatre performances in 1973 and 1989. The theater’s 50-year run also has included such favorites as Aladdin and His Wonderful Magical Lamp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jungle Book, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Charlotte’s Web, Alice in Wonderland, and Davey Crocket and His Coonskin Cap, among others.

The Wayne State College Theatre program proudly provides this unique outreach service to Northeast Nebraska. The Children’s Theatre production, presented each April, is attended by approximately 5,000 pre-school through fifth-grade children. For many of the children who attend these productions, it is sometimes their first and only experience with live theatre.

The annual children’s show is tied to classroom art, literary, and language arts activities in the schools and involves Wayne State College students in the elaborate costuming and special staging required for a young audience.

Running for 10 performances, the children’s show often serves as the highlight of a Wayne State College theatre student’s performance or design experience. Playing to an audience of 500-plus enthusiastic and appreciative young people provides a thrilling experience that is hard to surpass.

Wayne State College theatre students take part in all aspects of the production: designing, assistant directing, stage managing, building sets and assembling costumes, hanging and focusing lighting equipment, building and locating properties, painting, rehearsing, publicizing, and performing.