Knoch grad prepping for CLO 'Oz' show
Toto, I have a feeling we're not in the Benedum Center anymore.
Because of state pandemic guidelines, the Pittsburgh CLO's production of “The Wizard of Oz” will be staged at Heinz Field July 8 to 10.
Whether 2016 Knoch High School graduate Jessica Ortiz will take the field in the production is a matter of luck.
Ortiz, 23, has been offered the understudy for all of the female leads — Dorothy, Glenda and the Wicked Witch. Should any the actors in those roles not be able to perform, Ortiz would step in.
Rehearsals began July 1, last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will run up until opening night on July 8.Reached during a break in rehearsal Friday, Ortiz said the cast of 16 is in some interesting surroundings.“We're practicing in Heinz Field in locker room spaces. The locker rooms are all blocked out for this,” she said.“I'm actually covering all the female roles,” she added. “During rehearsal, I sit back, take notes and watch everyone.“I come to rehearsal, sit in the back of the room and watch them put the show together,” said Ortiz.“I will never get to go on unless someone is missing or sick,” she said.Pittsburgh CLO executive producer Mark Fleischer said the production is a partnership between the Pittsburgh CLO and the Pittsburgh Steelers.“The Steelers offered a helping hand. They wanted to see musical theater return. It's not just that we're renting the field,” he said.“We're using the south end zone. We're at the 12-yard line. We have roof and tents,” Fleischer said. “We'll have 107 tables on the field and there will be seats in the stands.”The audience will be 4,500, compared with the 2,800-seat capacity of the Benedum Center.“We're excited to be back and outdoors; it's a return to our roots,” said Fleischer, noting the CLO debuted in an outdoor show at Pitt Stadium in 1946.Despite the prospect of never getting on stage, or in this case on the field, Ortiz said it's not hard to keep up her enthusiasm.“Anything can happen. I always have to be on my toes,” Ortiz said. “Someone could get stuck in traffic or a family member might die.”This adaptability has served Ortiz well in the past year.She graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in musical theater in May 2020. She had summer work lined up with the Pittsburgh CLO.After that, Ortiz planned to move to New York City to pursue her dream of performing on Broadway.Then, the COVID-19 pandemic squashed all those plans.Ortiz has since adjusted and became a full-time enrollment specialist for South University, an online school. She will begin work on her master's degree in business July 13 through South University.Ortiz, who is the daughter of Ron and Carolyn Ortiz of Penn Township, has been doing theater productions since she was 5 years old, she said.Growing up, she watched shows at the Pittsburgh CLO, but she never thought she would be in a CLO cast and not for the first time.In the past, she worked with Pittsburgh Musical Theater, an experience that led her to choose theater as a profession.In 2019, Ortiz made her debut at the Pittsburgh CLO Greer Cabaret Theater at 655 Penn Ave. in Pittsburgh, as the female swing in the premiere of “Spamilton: An American Parody,” a musical parody of the Broadway show “Hamilton.”As the female swing, Ortiz covered for the only woman in the play's cast of seven. A swing is a performer who takes over when someone is out.Today, looking to find an outlet for her artistic side, Ortiz has became a TikTok star.Ortiz said the number of her followers has recently topped 2 million.She makes 30-second comedy skits based on her observational humor.And she hopes to make money with her new creative outlet.She said she recently signed with a manager and Viral Nation, an influencer marketing agency.Ortiz said she isn't sure where her future will take her.“It's a big question mark. I'm flying by the seat of my pants as far as my life is,” Ortiz said. “It's kind of exciting. I have plenty of options of things I can do.”
The tale of a Kansas farm girl who travels over the rainbow to discover the magical power of home, has been entertaining audiences for generations.It includes the songs “Over the Rainbow,” “Munchkinland (Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead),” “If I Only Had a Brain/A Heart/The Nerve,” “We're Off to See the Wizard (Follow the Yellow Brick Road),” “The Jitterbug,” “The Merry Old Land of Oz,” “Poppies (Optimistic Voices)” and “If I Were King of the Forest.”The production runs 90 minutes without an intermission.8:30 p.m. July 88:30 p.m. July 91 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. July 10.
