Student art sets the stage at the Wizard of Oz

June 10, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

Two Centre Dufferin High School (CDDHS) students set the stage with artwork this month in LP Stage Productions’ The Wizard of Oz at Grace Tipling Hall.

Grade 10 students, Morgan Priest and Alannah Halis painted an incredible Emerald City backdrop that rose from the stage floor to ceiling and brought the show to life with panoramic colour.

The two girls studied art at CDDHS under the direction of Sonja Culina in Grade 9 and Emily Darling in Grade 10, as well as Mrs. Maine in the art club.

Both take painting classes at Maggioli’s in Orangeville with Alessandra Vai.

Alannah’s mother, Violetta, says Ms. Vai, an art teacher from Italy, “has such passion for painting” that she has “truly inspired the girls.”

Morgan said she heard about volunteer work with LP Stage Productions through Primrose Elementary School.

“I’ve always played with the idea of becoming a set designer in the future,” she said. “[I] figured this would be an amazing opportunity. Originally, Alannah and I just thought we would be helping to do a little painting here and there [but Dale Lundy, one of LP Stage Productions producers] trusted us with the project of the Emerald City backdrop.”

Prior to this project, neither of the girls had attempted such a large scale painting. Although somewhat intimidated at first, Dale Lundy’s trust motivated the girls “to push beyond their own expectations,” says Violetta.

“The backdrop for me was definitely a learning experience,” says Alannah. “During the process we really pushed ourselves and discovered our limits. This was helpful from a time management aspect. It was really interesting to see everything come together over the several weeks we worked on it. I think both of our artistic styles put together gave us an awesome outcome for the backdrop.”

Adds Morgan: “This project has taught me so many things. I’ve learned to appreciate all the hard work that goes into each set piece in a play. This backdrop has taught me time management skills more than anything. This was such a huge project, very different from the small little canvases I normally paint on. The best reward was watching the curtain open up and finally seeing our painting as a whole, for when we painted it we could only paint it in halves.

“This has been an awesome experience and I would totally do it again.”

Violetta says both girls are academically dedicated students on the honour roll, and well-rounded in athletics. So, adding the nearly 40-hour project to their busy lives took time management and focus to make every hour productive.”

However, she says, “both are excited to tackle their next creative project with LP Stage Productions.”

Alannah says her goal for the future is to continue making art, “as it is something I love to do.”

“I haven’t decided if I will pursue an artistic career, but I know I’ll always have art in my life,” she says.

Morgan adds: “I have jumped around a lot on what to do with my life past high school. Art has always been a hobby of mine since I was little, growing up in a crafty family. Although, my ideas for the future always change, art is something I always come back to.”