![On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Wayland Cares director J Verhoosky led a presentation on the importance of choosing to be vulnerable in conversations. Through various activities and experiments, the audience was instructed to confront how they approach risk taking and their comfort zones. “[My biggest takeaway was] make yourself available for other people and share things you might not share with other people to make them feel like they're in a safe environment,” junior Addison Voight said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/JLb1q3m4ZHvNAKYzv7c60kyyrrafzS8pJlYoJcoj.png)
From Wayland High School Theater Ensemble (WHSTE) performances to concerts, the theater is often filled with students and their families. During a school year, it can be described as buzzing with activity by some people.
Since September, the theater has been home to 40 fifth grade students from Wayland elementary schools, alongside high school student volunteers to rehearse this year’s third annual Wayland Junior Broadway production: Matilda Junior the Musical.
Wayland Junior Broadway was first launched in 2021 by WHS drama teacher and WHSTE director, Aidan O’Hara. Noticing a gap in opportunities for elementary school students interested in musical and theatrical arts, O’Hara took the initiative to create a program tailored to them.
“Wayland Junior Broadway started three years ago, and I think it emerged as a unique opportunity for the elementary aged kids to experience a musical theater production within the town of Wayland,” O’Hara said.
Unlike middle school or high school, the elementary schools do not offer the ability to perform musicals or plays. The only real opportunity students have is the fifth grade play at the end of the year that has been a tradition within Wayland’s elementary schools.
“If you’re a fifth grader and you wanted to be in a musical, you’d probably have to go to the Wellesley Theater Project or the Performing Arts Connection,” O’Hara said. “ [I wanted] a chance to build some musical theater [in Wayland]. I noticed that Wednesday afternoons in the fall [have a] small window of opportunity where high school kids can participate as the staff for the program.”
The process involved a registration form sent out to fifth grade families over the summer, where they could sign their kids up for the program. Rehearsals occurred three times a month on Wednesday’s after school.
Wayland Junior Broadway is unique in the fact that it is mainly managed and run by high school students. During the summer, high school students were introduced to the program via email, and a student director was chosen. Students were asked to help support it by working various positions. These people were chosen from applications O’Hara sent out. Some of these positions included stage management, run crew, sound design and tasks such as spotlight operating.
“In the late spring of a school year, I’ll start to recruit a staff that are interested, and that can be any high school student,” O’Hara said. “It doesn’t have to be WHSTE students, it can be anyone. We got people together that are interested in working with kids and working on a musical. Then, I’ll have them do a job application, and we essentially build the following year’s staff that way.”
Students that work as staff are tasked with guiding the young performers, planning rehearsals, auditions and creating a list of props and elements that will be needed, giving high school students a chance to act as role models and see into the production side of theater. Many high school students took the opportunity and have been attending rehearsals ever since.
One such student is Lula Dunkelberg, who has been part of the WHSTE community since her freshman year. Now a senior, Dunkelberg has taken on the dual roles of production stage manager and light board operator for Matilda Junior while balancing her commitments to WHSTE’s other productions.
As the production stage manager and light board operator, Dunkelberg works closely with both the kids and staff, assisting with choreography and ensuring the young performers master their lines and staging. During the shows and dress rehearsals, she executes lighting cues,maintains communication with spotlight operators and keeps up with backstage staff to ensure the show runs smoothly.
“[My favorite part] about Wayland Junior Broadway is watching the fifth graders gain confidence in their singing, dancing and acting abilities,” Dunkelberg said. “I also like helping the kids form new friendships with kids from other schools that they can carry into next year. [It’s] a super cute show and you should come see it.”
Wayland Junior Broadway serves as an opportunity for fifth graders to explore and develop their passion for performing arts. This year’s production of Matilda Junior the Musical continues to nurture that vision, offering young performers an opportunity to act on the big stage.
“I think any time you get an opportunity to work on acting is a chance to improve your skills,” O’Hara said. “I would say doing a musical is different from say, like, your soccer team or even an orchestra group where you sort of have lots of opportunities and programs to practice. So I think that’s what’s exciting about Wayland Junior Broadway. It helps those young actors in Wayland interested in theater pursue that interest.”
Overall, this year’s Wayland Junior Broadway’s Matilda Junior the Musical was a success, selling out of tickets on its Saturday, Jan. 25 showing.
“This year’s production was a blast, and I’m super proud of all the high school kids and the fifth graders for just the incredible job they did,”O’Hara said. “I am looking forward to next year.”
