9:30am Friday 27th August 2010
By David Wiles
HUNDREDS of children will be treading the boards in the next few days as the Summer Youth Project follows the Yellow brick road to the magical land of Oz.
About 220 children taking part in the Summer Youth Project danced, sang and acted in the first of six sell-out performances of the musical last night.
The show, which was put together in just 11 days, followed a string of intense rehearsals in which some of the children continued working until 10pm.
Speaking to the Adver yesterday, project director Rodney Howard said: “The Wizard of Oz will be the result of a lot of hard work from everyone involved.
“I’m thoroughly looking forward to everyone getting to watch some of Swindon’s finest talent in this great production.”
The Summer Youth Project involves children aged from nine to 19 who come from Swindon and the surrounding areas.
The project started on Sunday, August 15, when they were given green Wizard of Oz T-shirts, had a tour of the building, met the crew and were put into groups.
During the next few days, from 9am until at least 5pm, the children learned the dance routines and songs for the scenes in which they were to appear.
Dress rehearsals took place on Wednesday and yesterday.
Dorothy is played by 17-year-old Georgina Hendry, from Thatcham, near Newbury, but most of the other children are in the chorus, playing Emerald City residents, Munchkins and other roles.
Abigail Cole, 11, from Freshbrook, said: “I’m really excited for opening night and the rest of the performances.
“Rehearsals have been hard work but a lot of fun. My favourite part is the dance that we do to the Jitterbug song.”
Her sister, Isabelle Cole, nine, added: “The Jitterbug is my favourite dance too.
“I’m a little nervous for our first night but I think it’s going to go really well.”
The first night of Wizard of Oz at the Wyvern Theatre was yesterday and it runs until Sunday, August 29.
All the tickets – about 3,500 across six performances – sold out on Wednesday.
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