First of all, why “The Wiz”?

Well I was looking for something where the students could express enthusiasm and have fun. And I wanted to use the talents that I knew, among the students. It was also, of course, a departure gift for M. and Mme Gudin. It was actually my 30^th production and the first time since 1995 that the play was indoors.

Was picking the cast difficult?

Picking the cast is probably the most difficult part of the job, because you need a team that works well together but also the right person for each role.

A lot of people auditioned, and letting them down was particularly hard.

Did the cast come up with ideas for certain aspects of the play?

Mrs. Bérubé: Of course! Collaboration is an important part of theater, and I think it’s important to involve everyone’s imagination.

For example, Adrian came up with the idea of the dog and decided he wanted to play that role.

On the other hand, it’s also important to let go of ideas and evolve as the play progresses.

I also love my collaboration with Mrs. Newberry: we have a symbiotic relationship!

Speaking of collaborations, the art and music department also played a major part in the preparation of this production.

Yes of course, the graffiti that the art department designed was amazing, and without certain people it wouldn’t have happened. It really took a whole company!

Out of the characters in the play, which one do you see yourself as?

Definitely Evillene! Evil is always fun to play!

Although I did play Dorothy in the past, I would choose Evillene now.

Maybe not with the corset though!

Did you have many difficulties working with the cast?

The fact that it was so large made it challenging, but every year has its own challenges, but it’s accidents and chaotic moments that allowed us to discover certain details.

In the end, it’s a question of trusting me, and trusting that I’m not going to make a fool of you.

Did anything go wrong on opening night?

Something always goes wrong!

I was quite disappointed that Victor’s song was cut due to a line being missed, but it’s a mistake that went quite smoothly.

The choreography got a little rough, but it did look more natural and fun!

Obviously certain details were missing like Dorothy’s tie, but only little things.

This isn’t Broadway; here it’s about learning and allowing the students to make decisions and contribute.

One of the main difficulties we did encounter was the distance between the audience and the stage, which was too great, so our solution was to throw as many of the actors in the audience, hence the flags and the dancers.

How did you come up with the modern version of this world-known story?

I used the movie version with Michael Jackson as an inspiration, but I mostly wanted to urbanize the story, have it today, and get Dorothy away from Kansas.

Having grown up in New York, this is my world.

But Emerald City being a club was an original idea, and then the details eventually came together.

The crew backstage was also quite large, how did they work under such pressure?

The stage management was extremely professional, not one of them got flustered, and without them it would have been total madness

Can you give us any hints on next year’s production?

I’m not going to share those! Director’s secret!

Any advice to future or current actors among us?

Have fun out there! If you do, the audience will too!

Interviewed by Sara Ghadimi