WCT board needs YOU!
To say that WCT has been a huge part of my family’s life over the past 6/7 years is an understatement.
Getting ready for her first show
In the summer of 2014 I remember my husband Chris and I trying to talk our 4th grade daughter into signing up for a show. She was painfully shy in class, and we wanted to build her self confidence. She already loved to sing, so it seemed as though WCT could be a great fit for her. She took a bit of persuading, not least because she was terrified to audition, but eventually, we signed her up, and she got a place in the lottery for the winter show, Hairspray.
WCT requires more parental involvement than a lot of other organizations in town. The whole program is run by a board of 22 volunteers and for each show we expect each family to volunteer around 20 hours of their time. This way, we can keep our costs down, meaning theater is accessible to more people. However, a giant bonus to this policy is that it also helps parents and families feel involved in the shows they work on, and feel connected and as if they belong to our WCT family.
There were almost twice as many photos by the time we had finished!
My first volunteer job in the winter of 2015 was lobby display. Looking back I made it into a slightly larger job than it needed to be! I would attend rehearsals as often as I could, taking candid photographs of the kids. I loved being in the theater and seeing the cast working together. My daughter was one of Mr Pinky’s Assistants that year, and also a Hairspray girl - she got to use actual cans of hairspray on stage and spray them as she danced (so exciting!). I remember mid-way through the rehearsal process finding out some of the high school interns were taking part in Freeplay, the improv show at the high school, and going with my family. I loved how the high schoolers knew my 4th grader, and how happy and confident she was in their presence. There are very few organizations in town where our kids get to connect with other kids across the grade levels, it’s a real gift.
After 10 weeks of rehearsals, my daughter got to take part in her first show. The lights, the sets, the costumes, the microphones, the 500+ audience, the bravo bags, the opening night milkshakes and fries at Orems way after bedtime. She was hooked. Ask anyone whose kid loves theater and they will tell you that opening night is the most amazing feeling ever. To come together as a cast and perform something that you have invested heart and soul in for 10 long weeks in front of an appreciative audience is one of the best feelings on earth. And the beauty of WCT is that all the parents feel invested and involved too. My daughter wasn’t the only one who was hooked!
You can’t beat that opening night feeling!
For me, applying to join the board was an easy decision. If I didn’t get on, there was a chance my daughter, with her new found love of theater and her blossoming confidence, wouldn’t make it into a show the following year. You see, there are two things I really knew about WCT before I joined the board: 1) it’s a lot of work and 2) it guarantees your child a place in one of the programs.
As it turns out, both those things are true! Being a WCT board member requires many hours of dedication to the organization. But for me it has never actually felt like work. My first year on the board I was Winter Costumes Co-chair - which was ironic because in my application letter I clearly stated I was willing to try anything but I couldn’t canoe or sew! Still, someone in their infinite wisdom decided costumes was the right spot for me, so I got on with the job. We had well over 100 costumes to source as many kids were double or even triple cast. I think the highlight of that year was planning the quick change for Mary Poppins and Bert in Jolly Holiday. If you click here you’ll see how the professionals do it. Our costume change wasn’t quite as smooth (!), but it did involve a very carefully coordinated plan with four dressers working with each cast member and a lot of last minute replacement of buttons with velcro! Fun times.
My Young Kangaroo with her Sour Kangaroo mom!
WCT was already becoming a big part of family life. My son, then an 8th grader, also joined the cast of Poppins, and my youngest would attend every rehearsal and help me out in the dressing room, eagerly awaiting her chance to join the cast, which she did the next year as the sassy Young Kangaroo in Seussical.
Over the next few years my daughters took part in many school year and summer shows: Jungle Book Kids, Aladdin Kids, Lion King Kids, Oliver!, Once Upon a Mattress, Anything Goes, The Little Mermaid, Matilda, and, most recently, Little Women.
Never a truer word!
I spent three years amazing years producing the winter show, working with so many great kids and their families, and our incredible board members on the winter team, before becoming Vice President two years ago. My son interned for WCT throughout high school, working the lights for both fall and winter shows, and my whole family regularly help set build during the summer, when WCT puts on a giant production without parent volunteers in slightly under three weeks (my husband is very handy - and so naturally we roped him into set design and build).
Psych is a beloved WCT tradition - led by our 8th graders
I have put more hours into WCT than I care to admit, and my family has basically grown up on crock pot dinners three times a week because I didn’t have time to cook on rehearsal days! But what WCT has given our family in return cannot be measured. So many hours together having fun doing something we love, so much pride, so much joy, so many amazing relationships with other creative, dedicated people who I now count among my closest friends. So many memories (bats in the auditorium, cast members running 4 miles to get to the show on time and almost going into shock right before the curtain went up, unexpected snow during tech week, missed costume changes during dress rehearsals resulting in much hilarity, the list goes on). My kids have blossomed in the nurturing environment WCT fosters, and my entire family has found a creative outlet.
Is the WCT board for everyone? No, honestly. WCT board members tend to be pretty remarkable people - dedicated, committed, flexible team players who are willing to invest a great deal of time and energy into creating programs that bring joy to kids and families in Wilton. But there is so much to be gained from working in a team with these incredible people.
We are currently seeking applications for new board members for the 2021/22 year. If you want to be a part of this amazing team then please go to our About page and find out how to apply. Should you get a position on the board you will undoubtedly end up putting in a good few hours of work, but you will also get to be part of something amazing that is so much bigger than you, that brings so much joy to so many, and that creates memories for Wilton’s children that will last a lifetime. And I can promise you you won’t regret it.