A Trip To Oz Auditions For Musical Bring Out Talent And Fear

On Sunday afternoon, 56 children and two adults waited to take a test in bravery.

They had come through the 90-degree afternoon heat to do something many of them had never done before - take a test where the only grades would be pass or fail.

They filled out paperwork. They listened to kind, but stern, warnings that not everyone would pass, even though all were worthy. And they heard the reassurances of mothers, fathers and friends who told them everything would be fine.

Then it was time.

A woman with a big, kind voice beckoned them to come out of anonymity’s cool darkness; to come on stage, to stand in fear’s spotlight and audition for a play.

“The worst part is the audition. It is absolutely the scariest part - performing is nothing in comparison,” said Diana Kloster, one of the crowd of hopefuls trying out for a spot in the Civic Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” which opens Sept. 26.

The fanciful story of a Kansas farm girl and a trio of fellas looking for brains, bravery and a heart, “The Wizard of Oz” will be the theater’s first production this season. On Sunday, director Kathie Doyle-Lipe held the play’s first audition; tryouts for up to 25 singing and dancing Munchkins.

Kloster was one of only two adults to try out for a little-person role. While she was nearly 40 years older than her counterparts, Kloster and many of the kids shared at least four things in common: they were all short, scared and unflinchingly brave on stage. And they all seemed to have a merry Munchkin of a time.

“I got really nervous, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Katie Chastek, a blonde 9-year-old taking her first try at the big stage.

“What if the director is really strict? What if I do everything wrong? What if I tripped or bumped into somebody?” said Chastek, describing her thoughts before the audition.

But none of those things happened.

Under the kind command of Doyle-Lipe - whose motto was “Have fun! Have fun!” - and music director Jeff Batdorf, the Munchkin mob sang, danced, read scripts and giggled a lot.

“I feel great about it. It was really fun,” Chastek said after the first part of the auditions were done.

With a little break from her audition, Chastek sat in the cool half-light of the auditorium next to her mother - a little braver, a little more grown up than when she left.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo