For the Whidbey Children’s Theatre’s cast of the “Wizard of Oz,” there’s no place like the theater.

From age 9 to 19, the cast of the theater’s most recent production have found their home in the community of young thespians where they feel free to be themselves. They speak reverently of meeting friends, memorizing lines and wearing glittery costumes.

As 14-year-old Callum Keith who plays several roles put it, “I really like theater ‘cause it’s like another family to me.”

“The Wizard of Oz,” the theater’s summer show, opened July 23 and runs through July 31. Masks are required at all performances.

Kids began rehearsals starting the second week of June. Due to some delays caused by COVID-19, the play opened one day later than planned.

“This was kind of a neat show because it’s the last show that we did in the Porter Building, which was our other location,” said Jenica Deer-Cerda, marketing and outreach coordinator of the theater. “It’s kind of a fun, full-circle thing and it’s also the culmination of our 40th year season.”

It also happens to be the final production for some of the cast’s oldest members, who have lead roles and have all graduated high school.

Lily Fisher and Callum Cassee, both South Whidbey High School class of 2021 alumni, play Dorothy and the Scarecrow, respectively. Aidan Martin is a 2022 graduate who plays the Lion. Noelani Martin, 16, plays the Tin Man.

Cast members agreed that one of the most challenging things about “The Wizard of Oz” was the loss of rehearsal time to COVID-19 illness. A total of 20 hours were lost. Some actors had to miss more than one week when family members also got sick.

And theater can be challenging for other reasons, too.

“In my opinion the hardest thing about theater is how overstimulating the environment can be because there’s always bright lights and there’s always people moving and there’s always so much noise,” said Bowie Allen, 13, who plays Nikko, the Flying Monkey Leader, among other roles. “And also just how genuinely exhausting it is to put on a production and do it every single day for several hours.”

Others found last-minute changes to blocking or playing multiple roles to be a bit stressful.

But in the end, there’s plenty to love about the play and theater in general.

“The community developed while being in a show is really nice,” said 14-year-old Annabella Harrison, who plays Auntie Em and other roles. “You have to have a certain bond for it all to work.”

“The best thing about theater, in my opinion, is when I come here, I can be 100% myself, no matter what that is, and I don’t have to hold anything back or hide anything and it feels kind of like an escape from the rest of the world,” said 14-year old Corin Boyd, who plays the Mayor of Munchkin City and other roles.

For more information or to purchase tickets to “The Wizard of Oz,” visit wctmagic.org.

Next up, fifth through twelfth graders will be performing in “Treasure Island,” the first show of the Whidbey Children’s Theatre’s 41st season, this fall.

Photos by David Welton From left to right, 18-year-old Aidan Martin, 16-year-old Noelani Martin, 19-year-old Lily Fisher and 19-year-old Callum Cassee play the Lion, the Tin Man, Dorothy and the Scarecrow, respectively.

Tevrin Murray, 14, plays the Wicked Witch of the West in the Whidbey Children’s Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Annabella Harrison, 14, and Callum Keith, 14, play Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.