{"id":28283,"date":"2025-04-17T08:25:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T13:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/?p=28283"},"modified":"2025-04-17T13:01:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:01:26","slug":"take-a-journey-down-the-yellow-brick-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/2025\/04\/17\/take-a-journey-down-the-yellow-brick-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Take A Journey Down The Yellow Brick Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thefrom Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a special kind of magic that fills our school in the weeks leading up to the spring musical. Laughter rings through the Nicholson Center, lines are rehearsed in quiet corners, musicians fine-tune their performance, and sets begin to take shape. That energy is alive and well this year as we prepare for our reimagined production of “The Wizard of Oz<\/a>“<\/strong>\u2014a performance that reflects not just creativity, but the heart of an MPA education.<\/p>\n

This year, 56 students from grades seven through 12 are involved in the production as cast members, crew, and orchestra musicians. And it\u2019s not just our seasoned theatre students who are participating. Among them are athletes, musicians, first-time performers, and students who joined simply because a friend encouraged them or because they were curious. They come from different friend groups, different grades, and different backgrounds, but theatre brings them together in a way that is powerful and transformative.<\/p>\n

As director James Lekatz shared, \u201cThe most powerful gift theater gives is the incredible strength to create community. These students aren’t in the same friend groups, but they are coming together for this production. The audience is made up of friends, family, and strangers, coming together for one night to support students doing incredible things. Theater brings people together to experience a brief moment together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theater, at its best, is more than performance\u2014it\u2019s education in its most holistic form. It helps students become not only better artists, but better people. At MPA, theater is an essential aspect of our mission, reflected in our Portrait of a Graduate, and provides students with the opportunity to achieve mastery of our Future-Ready Competencies. Here’s how:<\/p>\n