Left to right: Peter Dart as the Wizard, Paul Miles Schneider as the Tin Man, and Stacey Warner as Dorothy in Kansas Repertory Theatre’s summer musical production of The Wizard of Oz. The University of Kansas, 1982.

As an eager, nineteen-year-old theatre student, I auditioned for Kansas Repertory Theatre’s summer production of “The Wizard of Oz” and landed the part of the Tin Man. In many ways, it was a dream come true for me. Of course that was before I went through the grueling hour-long makeup process prior to each show. And once I was wired into that barrel-chested costume, I couldn’t sit until after the final curtain came down. This photo was taken at our first dress rehearsal and ran in the local newspaper (the Lawrence Journal-World) promoting our show. I still didn’t have my final chin piece, eye and lip makeup (black), or rubber rivets in place. I was ultimately given the “full Jack Haley treatment.” And with the hot lights baking me like a potato, I would lose anywhere from six to eight pounds during a single performance. Still, I would do it again in a galvanized heartbeat if given the chance. Especially the weight loss part!