The spunky, 70's version of the classic "Wizard of Oz" story is a shoe-in for special effects. Urbana High's production in April of 2003 boasted the largest menagerie yet of special effects, including a slew of pyrotechnic, fog, compressed carbon dioxide, and mechanical effects. All special effects were designed and produced by Peter Wood Productions (PWP), then the reigns were handed over to trained actors, technicians, and stage crew members, who executed the effects during the run of the show. Below is the complete list of effects, props, and set pieces that PWP was directly involved with. Note that many set pieces and costumes were not built by PWP, but the special effects were built in or added before or after construction.

The directors determined that the Wiz needed to shoot a ball of fire at the Scarecrow from his staff. PWP took the existing staff, and duplicated its design with PVC pipe. Next, a handheld pyrotechnic barrel was added to the ball, as well as a two switch system (one armed, one fired), and the required battery to make it all work. The unit was then professionally painted by Josh Scalera, to give it a durable, automotive-quality emerald luster. It was nearly indistinguishable from the previous version, but shot a sparking ball of fire 15-20 feet across the stage.

In The Wiz, the Tinman is actually supposed to be a trash can. To add a touch of humor, the directors requested a hat for Chris Scalera (playing the Tinman, at left) that would open and close, like the lid of many kitchen trash cans. PWP designed the mechanics for a remote-control system to achieve this. A servo, 9 volt battery, and receiver were in Chris' hat, while the band director in the orchestra pit was given the special job of controlling the hat (with an RC car-style controller). After the mechanism was finished, Mama Corsetto in the costume shop finished it off with silver lame and a helmet to complete the illusion (see animation at right).

Bubbles, from a custom PWP bubble machine, fell from the catwalk of Urbana's auditorium during The Tinman's opening song Slide Some Oil To Me. This saved much-needed time and money (in the process of purchasing a professionally-produced bubble machine), and was custom-installed for Urbana's application. A series of 10 bubble wands slowly rotated, dipping themselves in a bubble fluid tank, then moving past a high-speed fan, which made the bubbles, and pushed the bubbles out 5 or 6 feet, so they fell at a natural speed. A small tub held about a gallon of bubble fluid underneath the wands, and served as both the fluid tank and the catch pan for the bubbler. The amount of bubbles produced, and the ease of activation (just applying 110 volt power) was a major asset. Nonetheless, two techies still went up to manually blow bubbles in the catwalk during each performance, while cast members blew bubbles from the tops of "Oz trees" onstage. This bubble machine was later modified as a smoke-filled bubble machine, creating bubbles that were filled with fog.

Skeletons (left) were needed in the Evilenne throne scene, though more for humor than horror. PWP's stock skeletons were perfect additions to Evilenne's throne, as their faces were stuck in a smiling grimace, rather than anything truly scary. The throne itself was one of the more mechanically complex aspects of the show. A miniature elevator was installed, powered by a counterweight system, and calibrated to Evilenne's (played by Kate Mackey) weight. The red throne box is actually just four walls. The seat part sinks down 30 inches to allow for an effective melting sequence. A simple 2x4 stop was installed so the chair could be sat upon without sinking before her demise. As an added touch, fog from a fog machine was piped up and out of the throne, giving a steaming, sizzling effect. Also added to the throne set was a silk flame effect, held by the skeleton on the left. A commonly-available hanging flame bowl was attached to a PVC base, and gelled with red semitransparent plastic, to give a more realistic flame look. Shortly into construction, it became apparent that the 14-foot-tall unit would have to fit through a 10 foot doorway. The back of her throne (giant flame cutout) was hinged below the floorline, so that it could be folded up and stored when in transit.

The Wiz throne/head unit had it's own internal lighting control system, featuring a 750-watt strobe light, ropelight emphasizing the glasses, a glowing green throne, and green floodlights to backlight the entire unit. There were major design difficulties, however, because the face folded into thirds (the two side pieces folding back onto its base). As a result, the ropelight couldn't be securely mounted, but was installed in a track system, and spring-loaded to stretch into place as the side panels were opened. As with all the other head controls, the lighting was controlled via the operator behind the head base.

A two-part fog piping system allowed fog to exit through the wiz head's ears (left), as well as out the mouth and around the throne. Because of the distance required, a suction fan was added to pull the fog along the 20 feet of piping from the machine to the ear exit pipes. A simple window roller-blind was used as the upper-mouth opening, painted with black lines to represent teeth. The lower-half of the mouth was a spring-hinged panel attached to the ramp/tongue.

While Dorothy and her three friends are going to see the Wiz, they have to pass through a dark and creepy forest inhabited by poppies and squeegees (right). For an eerie effect, PWP brought in their custom-built fog chiller, which chilled the output from a fog machine to a temperature lower than room temperature. Since warm air rises, and cold air sinks, it hugs the ground, creating the classic haunted cemetery look. Three foggers were used in rotation to produce constant fog for about five minutes.

A behind-the-scenes view of the complex fog piping and switch assembly on the back of the wiz head unit. Two operators were required run the head during the song So You Wanted To Meet the Wizard? Josh Rhodes (Uncle Henry, ensemble) pushed the tongue out smoothly and fluidly (as if hydraulically-operated) at the song's beginning. Johnny Carroll controlled all the fog and lighting onboard the head unit. Johnny also controlled the ventriloquist-style eyebrows installed on the wiz head for use in the second act. With the eyebrows installed on a pivot, fishing line was stretched to behind the head, and independent control of each eyebrow was possible.

For the tornado scene, PWP employed an effect where fog is blown through a fan to break it up, and give more of a dust illusion than smoke. On stage left, an industrial-strength furnace blower was built into a tree to provide sufficient wind. Fog came from upstage right and left, creating a whole-stage haze effect. PWP also provided a mirror ball over the audience, which was utilized effectively for the tornado, giving a disorienting spin effect. Interesting additional effects (though not PWP-based) included a house that actually spun across the stage floor (powered by Aunt Em and Uncle Henry [Maggie Alspaugh and Josh Rhodes, respectively]).

To represent the Emerald City gates, PWP built a portable flat unit, 15 inches deep, 12 feet long, and 10 feet tall. "Gold" handles were made from PVC pipe, and "Emerald City" letters were designed with a director-approved font, then transferred to foam insulation, then carefully cut out with a bandsaw. Later, gold and yellow details were added to the overall green, adding to the depth. (Pictured at left are Chris Scalera as the Tinman, and Steve Fowler as the Emerald City gatekeeper)

The Wiz needed a balloon to quickly fly away in, and thus, leave Dorothy in the midst of Oz. This back view shows the PWP constructed balloon, about 15 feet tall, with the actual balloon made from 1/4" plywood (about an 8-foot diameter), faced it with cotton batting (for a scalloped effect), and covered it with royal purple and yellow fabric stripes. A black art effect was employed so the 2x4 supports wouldn't be easily seen, and yellow "support" ropes were added to complete the balloon's look. A basket was fashioned out of 1/2" plywood, painted black, then painted with a 3-D basket-weave look. To smoothly move the balloon offstage, two handles were mounted to the hidden side of the basket, and four heavy-duty caster wheels made the entire unit very mobile.

PWP designed and built a wicked furnace for the Evilenne throne scene at the beginning of Act 2. An existing set piece was modified to construct the base, then a crooked 8-foot chimney was built, and attached to the base. A small fog machine pumped fog through a PVC pipe running up the chimney, timed to produce smoke at a low internal and low duration (meaning, small puffs, very often). Additionally, the PWP Labs flame light unit was employed to create a flickering fire effect through a flame-shaped grill on the furnace's front. The actual doors on it's front are only 1/4" thick, but painted with white and yellow spray paint to enhance the shadows and highlights. To finish off the unit, a skeleton was "charred" (with black spray paint) and attached on the furnace's left side, looking like a half-baked victim.

A pair of confetti cannons were fired at the end of Everybody Rejoice. Two lucky techies got to shoot two dozen streamers per show from the catwalk system high above the audience on the last beat of the song. The streamers fell slowly, looked great, and were easy to clean up. The cannons were powered by compressed carbon dioxide.

Barb Marmet, playing the good witch Addaperle, had some magic coaching from PWP in preparation for her role. She performed magic tricks during her signature song, including a magic wand that turned into a scarf, and an appearing bunch of flowers.

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