WICKED: Never Give Up

by Kaitlyn Maxwell (Intern Director, WICKED)

Everyone knows of the classic musical Wizard of Oz. It’s the musical that teaches us that you can’t take what you’ve got for granted; that over the rainbow seems like the place to be, but the view from down on the ground is just as wonderful. But I’m not here to talk about Dorothy and Toto, I’m here to talk about those Witches that live over the rainbow, better yet, in the wonderful village of Oz. And you know exactly what musical I’m talking about… Wicked!

I believe the key to developing a well-liked story is the message behind it. But what is the message in Wicked? Is it that we shouldn’t judge one another, or that there is two sides to every story or that love is blind? Well yes, it’s all of them. But what connects to me, is the underlying notion that if you’re passionate about something, and believe in it, then never give up!

Elphaba wanted justice and fairness towards animals. She wanted this so much that she let her image be tampered with just to stay faithful to what she believed in. To me, this is a powerful and meaningful message to all, but especially those involved in the arts. Every ‘musical theatre nerd’ would be able quote, sing and dance every line, lyric and move from Wicked. They know it well enough to know the plots, characters, accents, original casts and the meanings. Despite knowing and loving the message in Wicked, a lot of performers still end up giving up their art for various reasons. 

I get it, it’s hard, it’s costly and you need to be so lucky to land that role. But do you remember when you were little and you’d just sing or dance just because you loved it? You weren’t being paid and you didn’t even need to be good at it, but you still did it. As a 5 year old dreamer, that was something you were passionate about, so you just did it. My message is that you shouldn’t give up your passion, even if it's because your worried about your image, or what people say, or money. Do what you love, even if you turn green.

My name is Kaitlyn Maxwell, and I am so excited to be the intern director for Redcliffe Musical Theatre’s Queensland Community Theatre Premiere production of WICKED. With only two rehearsals down, there is some seriously beautiful sounds and such professionalism stemming from all of our cast. I’m excited to learn about what it takes to direct a production. Acting is something that I am very passionate about and so I’m hoping to help my fellow actors work on character development and nurture their growth. How does your character talk, walk, what are their traits, do they have natural or realistic gestures and expressions, etc? I want to help the actors get into great depths with their roles. My main forte is comedy, so I can’t wait to play around with some of the more comedic scenes. This cast has some great comedic timing already, so I cannot wait to work with them further. I hope to gain the skills to direct a show of my own someday, and I really am learning from the best.

I cannot wait to see how far this show goes, this show is already ‘Popular’ and will surely ‘Defy Gravity’. ‘Thank Goodness’ Redcliffe Musical Theatre is staging this production!