Come See The ‘Wizard’ Evergreen Elementary Kids Present The Classic Play At Whitworth College Friday

Tuesday afternoon, Kathy Meredith beamed with enthusiasm. By the afternoon her heart was heavy.

The Evergreen Elementary school teacher helped direct a group of students who will perform the Wizard of Oz on Friday at the Whitworth College auditorium.

Meredith had a gleam in her eyes as she watched a talented Dorothy - played by sixth-grader Leah Vaughn - recite her lines so perfectly it sounded as if they were born in her head.

The gleam was then joined by tears when she thought about the first time she helped direct a different group of kids in the same play.

“Krista was my first Dorothy,” Meredith said, speaking of Krista Hunt Ausland, 25. Ausland was killed in Banato de la Cruz, Bolivia, in a bus accident last week. A memorial service for the Mead High graduate was held at First Presbyterian Church Tuesday afternoon.

Meredith remembered directing Krista as a young girl.

“I was 25 then - the age she was when she died,” she said.

Friday’s Evergreen performance at 7 p.m. will be dedicated in (Krista) Ausland’s memory.

Like life, the show will go on.

Every four years, the students at Evergreen Elementary put on the show. It’s so technical that it would be difficult to pull off every year, Meredith said.

By the time production is complete, 73 kids ranging in age from third to sixth grade will have helped put the performance together.

They have practiced two hours a day for two days a week since February, Meredith said.

“They’re doing really well,” Meredith said before the final curtain went up. “Right now they’re trying to get the technical aspect of it together.”

This week is the first the students have rehearsed in the Whitworth Auditorium. Previous rehearsals were held in Evergreen’s gym. The entire time they have received help from Whitworth drama students.

As for the lead roles, Vaughn is Dorothy; Colton Riddle, fifth grade, the Scarecrow; Zach Pullin, sixth, the Lion; April Moe, sixth, the Tin Man; Bethan Murphy, sixth, the Wicked Witch; Emma Burke, sixth, the Good Witch; and Gabe Majeski, sixth, is the Wizard.

Vaughn brings the necessary spunk to her character.

“Once you get the lines memorized, the rest is not that hard,” said a confident Vaughn. She said it took her two weeks to learn her lines.

Previously she’s performed in church plays and choirs.

She admits she’s nervous, but asserts, “I know I can do it.”

Meanwhile, everyone got a chance to work out the bugs.

At one point during rehearsal, Pullin was hiding behind a prop on stage. While Vaughn was in the middle of one of her lines, Pullin shouted, “Mrs. Meredith, my leg is falling asleep back here.”

Later, Burke’s microphone went out as she cackled and screamed at Vaughn and Riddle.

“Keep going, keep going,” Meredith implored. “Don’t stop when there’s a glitch.”

At that, Meredith turned to a couple of parents attending the rehearsal.

“We’re getting there,” she said. “We’re getting there.”

Meredith said it’s hard work, but it’s worth every minute.

“This is a great way to get close to the 73 kids outside of school and class,” Meredith said. “It’s nice to pass this along to a generation of other kids.”

Krista would agree. She was a teacher, too.