In an imaginative production involving the whole school, 12 year-old Rhiannon Colley from Purbeck View School has recently fulfilled her dream of playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

“I watched the film when I was five, and I thought, ‘What would it be like to be Dorothy?’” Rhiannon said.

Rhiannon, who says her favourite part in the play is the dance she does during the Kansas wind storm, has worked very hard on developing social skills and working in cooperation with others since rehearsals began, according to Sue Goulding, Purbeck View’s Head.

“Developing their communication is a key area for all students with autism,” she said. “The Wizard of Oz has also offered them an opportunity to explore their own emotions, which people with autism find difficult.”

Through characters like Lion, students can examine feelings like fear and the quality of bravery. According to Mandy Jones, the play’s director, the play is an excellent vehicle to show pupils that, like the lion, they can conquer their own anxieties.

Students: Mr SGL Leaning as The Wizard, Rhiannon Colley as Dorothy, Tom Swinn as the Tin Man,
with staff Neil Handford, Viv Elston and Jo Burbage

Most of the pupils have never performed in a play before, and some were initially nervous about the bright lights and echoing sounds at the local Mowlem Theatre in Swanage where the production took place. Staff at first made short visits to the Mowlem with pupils to get them used to the setting.

Each pupil is also shadowed by a member of staff who shows them where to move, and some children sign their lines, while an adult says them aloud.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for students and staff to work together,” commented Debbie Onslow, the school’s speech and language therapist, who adapted the play especially for the pupils. She has given the storyline a more positive slant, with the bad witch getting squashed by accident and the wizard intervening to help the other characters.

Debbie Onslow says that The Wizard of Oz has lent itself to a rich variety of cross-curricular work, one of the main reasons why it was chosen. In English, pupils have studied the characters and the sequence of events; some have used comic strip language and thinking and talking bubbles to learn about the plot and characters. Scripts have been colour-coded and re-written in picture symbols to make them easier to read.

Students who are strong readers are acting as narrators, including Daniel Sadie, who has chosen to wear a tuxedo. Many others are involved in music and movement under the able direction of Mark Hopper, a care team manager. Children playing simple instruments are accompanying the five-piece orchestra, and several students have helped Penny Le Mesurier, the art coordinator, to plan the sets. The programme was designed as part of ICT lessons.

Each class has taken responsibility for a particular scene in the play, with Class 1 representing the storm in the first scene, and Class 5 playing the Yellow Brick Road.

Pupils have been involved in important casting decisions, too. The school council voted for Sue Goulding to appear as the Good Witch, while Debbie Onslow plays the Bad Witch, although they both insist that no type-casting was intended!

Sue Goulding is pleased that the play has included every student in the school. “Every child has contributed in their own way and it’s been terrific fun,” she said. “It’s been an experience every student can be proud of.”