Author: Oz Admin
Start Your TeslaCon with an Introduction to Oz
New to Oz? Jane Albright, Oz enthusiast, collector, and long-time member of the International Wizard of Oz Club will start Thursday morning’s TeslaCon programming in the Oz Club’s breakout room with a whirlwind tour just for you. If all you know is the classic MGM Musical, or the recent Wicked films are what’s drawn your attention to Oz, you aren’t alone. 125 Years of Oz will run you through highlights of Oz books, the 1903 Broadway production, early silent films, cartoons, The Wiz, and much more. While the emphasis is on books, stage, and screen production, Jane weaves toys, collectibles, characters, comics, the greater Oz fan community, and much more into this presentation. Think of it as a shortcut to discovering the bigger picture. Jane also co-presents with Ryan Jay a talk about the Wheelers, a cyborg race that races around on four wheels in place of hands and feet. Her Sunday presentation show you ways to continue exploring Oz after TeslaCon wraps up. That talk looks at Oz destinations around the US you can visit, and scans through a website focused on helping you find all the Oz places and events imaginable. Presenter: Jane Albright A past president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Jane Albright joined it as a 12-year-old in 1971. She frequently draws from her extensive collection to support Oz exhibits from her home in Kansas City. She’s written Oz fiction for the Club’s annual anthology, which she currently edits. And she occasionally has non-fiction published in The Baum Bugle over topics as diverse Oz illustrator W.W. Denslow’s private island in Bermuda, the history of Oz puppetry, and Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess’s performance as the Scarecrow in Walt Disney’s unproduced Rainbow Road to Oz. She received the Club’s highest honor, The L. Frank Baum Memorial Award in 2000. One of her Club responsibilities is making sure member conventions happen, so she will be wearing a number of figurative hats during TeslaCon. Since she’s also tackling all the contests, expect a literal hat or two, too. If you’re curious enough to search her on Google or Youtube, “Stick ‘Oz’ after my name,” she says. “Because I share it with a celebrated woman’s basketball coach—who has far more reason than I to be in the news.”
Return to Oz with Ryan Jay
Ryan Jay is a nationally syndicated entertainment journalist and Wizard of Oz historian. He can be seen Fridays on NBC-Milwaukee’s “The Morning Blend” and on Saturday morning newscasts, reviewing what’s worth seeing, streaming, or skipping in theaters and on TV. Ryan is a member of the Critics’ Choice Association which annually awards excellence in TV and film at the Critics’ Choice Awards. He regularly interviews celebrities and local performers, promoting current work. Prior to his work in broadcasting, his career spanned 13 years in television production, producing major pop culture and entertainment programming for networks such as Bravo, Showtime, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, TLC, and The Jerry Springer Show. As an Oz Historian, Ryan produces and emcees Wizard of Oz-related events and presentations at fandom cons, museums, theaters and schools across the country. In recognition of this work, he was honored to have his handprints & autograph cemented with those of notable Oz celebrities at the Oz Museum in Kansas; and was bestowed honorary lifetime membership by the L. Frank Baum and All Things Oz Historical Foundation in New York. He has been an active member of the International Wizard of Oz Club since childhood. Notable Oz interviews include Wicked’s original Broadway stars Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth and Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, including their participation in an Oz documentary he is currently directing. It focuses on the creation and legacy of the song “Over the Rainbow” and is produced by Aaron Harburg, great-grandson of Wizard of Oz lyricist Yip Harburg. Other highlights include work and interviews with stars from the film adaptation of WICKED, Return to Oz, Oz the Great and Powerful, NBC’s Emerald City, The Wiz Live, the original Broadway & revival of The Wiz, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, Sci Fi’s Tin Man, The Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Off-Broadway’s The Woodsman, Tom & Jerry Back to Oz, Boomerang’s Dorothy & The Wizard of Oz, Prime Video’s Lost in Oz, relatives of the stars and once-surviving Munchkins from MGM’s The Wizard of Oz; and more. For TeslaCon 2026, Ryan will share selected interviews with cast and crew members from Disney’s 1985 live-action film Return to Oz including a wonderful conversation with composer David Shire. A related presentation will focus more directly on the Wheelers, a race of cyborgs Dorothy encounters in Ozma of Oz, that have wheels instead of hands and feet. That talk will include an interview with Pons Marr who played a Wheeler in Return to Oz. And Sunday Ryan takes the podium again with an update on the latest happenings of interest to Oz fans. From Wicked to the Oz Universe graphic novel, the new It’s Dorothy documentary, and touring productions such as Oz on Ice and The Wiz revival, Ryan was behind the scenes and on camera getting our questions answered. Expect to hear about a theme park in Australia and live-action films in Russia, and the headline-grabbing, AI-enhanced adaptation of the 1939 MGM film for the Sphere is Las Vegas.
Balloons, Airships, and Ozoplanes: Fanciful Flights Above and Around Oz
L. Frank Baum launched his most famous heroine into the air in the first chapter of the first Oz book. Since then, a fantastic array of characters and vehicles has populated the Ozian skies. Please ensure that your seatbelt is securely fastened as Atticus Gannaway pilots an exploration of how Ozian aeronautics evolved over the course of the series. Atticus Gannaway, senior writer in NYU School of Law’s Office of Communications, is a former editor-in-chief ofThe Baum Bugle and the author of six Oz books, including The Silver Sorceress of Oz (Books of Wonder, 2002). The recipient of the 2012 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, he has written major research articles about about Oz illustrators Frank Kramer and Dick Martin and is currently working on a book about how Baum and his publishers turned Oz into a cultural phenomenon.
Copper and Tin: The Life and Adventures of Two Metal Men
Judy Bieber is a Professor of History at the University of New Mexico. Her day job consists of teaching and research about the history of Spanish America and Brazil. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the history, meaning, and wonder of the Oz books and the life and era of L. Frank Baum. This presentation extends her fascination with the depiction of gender roles and magical states of being in Baum’s Oz books. The Tin Woodman identifies with his formerly human self, which motivates his quest to regain a heart. He considers himself to be alive. Tik Tok is resolutely mechanical, animated rather than living, with no desire to be anything else, or so he says. Both, however, demonstrate qualities of human kindness and gentle masculinity that are more similar than they are different. Baum eventually would feature each as protagonist in Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) and The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918). Do metal men possess special characteristics that flesh-and-blood Ozians lack? This question and more will be answered in this deep dive about two of Baum’s most beloved, enduring creations. Judy has been active in the Oz Club since childhood, having joined the International Wizard of Oz Club in 1977. She has served on the IWOC board of directors, and has published articles and book reviews in the Baum Bugle. At IWOC conventions, she has delivered presentations about Baum’s pseudonymous works, gender representations in the Oz books, among others. Judy enjoys learning how to use old things, from vintage cameras to treadle sewing machines. She is excited to attend her first Teslacon.
Above the White City: An Aerial View of the 1893 World’s Fair
Join aeronaut O. Z. Diggs for a sky-high tour of the wondrous World’s Fair of 1893. We’ll take a bird’s eye view of the fairgrounds and swoop down into the White City (have your colored spectacles ready!) to peek inside some of the grand exhibition palaces. Prepare to be amazed by marvelous machinery, enchanting electricity, and fabulous flora. Hold on tight as we ascend above the raucous Midway Plaisance by balloon and dream about sky-scraping observation towers before riding on one shaped like a giant “O.” You may well believe yourself transported to the land of the fairies! At night, we’ll ride up to the top of the world’s largest building to see rainbow-colored fountains and messages written on the clouds as if by magic. Scott Cummings is an independent researcher who publishes worldsfairchicago1893.com, an educational website devoted to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. When not exploring the White City, he has served on the Board of Directors of the International Wizard of Oz Club and as editor-in-chief of its journal. He writes articles and presents talks on a wide range of topics, including renewable energy, obscure theater shows, author L. Frank Baum, and the history of the Chicago fairgrounds. He presented talks on the 1893 World’s Fair for the Chicago Steampunk Exposition in 2024 and 2025.
Origins of Oz: Suffrage and the White City
Break out your Votes for Women sash, don your green glasses, and join Chris Glasgow, Curator of the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas, for a look at two profound influences on L. Frank Baum’s vision of Oz. Chris has been the Curator for the OZ Museum/Columbian Theatre Foundation in Wamego, Kansas for more than 8 years. Coming from a background in public school teaching, and a love of reading, film and theater arts, Chris has a thirst to learn history, research, facilitate, and share what she learns with others. Her life long skills have prepared her well for her curation position, allowing her to increase scholarly knowledge and provide outreach for the Oz community and beyond. Chris has also been active the last 4+ years with the Humanities Kansas program, providing state wide presentations to non-profit groups about Oz, L Frank Baum, his mother-in-law suffragist leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, and other related topics. On behalf of the historic Columbian Theatre, her presentations both in and outside of Kansas share history about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, with its unique connection to the World of Oz. For TeslaCon Chris offers a presentation outlining how both Gage and the White City helped lead Baum to dream of an Emerald City thriving in the heart a utopian society run by women. Originally from Ohio, Chris Glasgow has lived in 28 states, raised 5 children as a single mom while completing a theater Arts degree in college and Museum Studies coursework. She continues to travel across the US and the world, learning about new cultures with a focus on literature, theater and film.
Join the Conversation; Oz Book Panels with Ryan Bunch
Ryan Bunch President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, joins TeslaCon to moderate book discussion panels about the book that started it all, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Thursday 11:30am) and The Patchwork Girl of Oz (Friday 2:30pm), which was chosen as a focus story for this 2026 convention. These interactive discussions will combine expertise from Oz Club members, with opportunity for audience discussion. Come expecting to hear what you already know and what you never knew (He’ll also team up with Te Craft to present “Music Milestones in Oz,” but we’ll blog about that another time.) Active in the Oz Club since he won his first Oz convention quiz at age 11, Ryan is an engaging and knowledgeable presenter on a wide range of Oz topics. He’s an academic writer who happens to know his way around a piano, so he’s often pressed into duty as accompanist for live music. He has performed for us as both actor and puppeteer. To stage his own puppet version of Buratino in the Emerald City, Ryan once made puppets, wrote music and songs, and performed in the show; the story was based on Leonid Vladimirsky’s obscure 1996 Russian children’s book that brought Pinocchio to Oz. More recently Ryan, with his husband Micah Mahjoubian, cochaired Oz: the National Convention 2016 in Philadelphia. That event found him partnering with local arts organizations for programming, and organizing tours that visited sites associated with Oz creators Ruth Plumly Thompson, John R. Neill, W.W. Denslow, Charles Santore, and Maxfield Parrish, and otherwise filling four days with Oz content for fans. Ryan’s own book, Oz and the Musical: Performing the American Fairy Tale, was published by Oxford University Press in 2023, the same year he received his Ph.D. in the Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers-University Camden. The book discusses Oz musicals from the 1902 Oz stage version to Wicked, with numerous stops along the way, including the MGM film version, The Wiz, Oz Club productions, and the Land of Oz theme park on Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Ryan received the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award in 2024. He currently teaches music studies at Temple University in Philadelphia.
The Master Key (1901): L. Frank Baum’s Electrical Fairy Tale
Author L. Frank Baum supported his son Robert’s fascination with electricity with interest and pride. An emerging technology in 1901, the 14-year-old was eager to explore its power through his home experiments, and dreamed of the impact it might have on society. Within the household, evidence of the young teen’s hobby took two directions: Rob built electrical machines, and his father wrote a book. The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale, Founded Upon the Mysteries of Electricity and the Optimism of Its Devotees was dedicated to Rob, and features a boy named Rob, likely modeled after the author’s son. The novel has protagonist Rob accidentally touch electricity’s master key. The genie-like Daemon of Electricity appears, promising to bring him a series of electrical devices over a period of three weeks. One instantly creates food. Another is a wristwatch transportation machine that sends him flying! Young Rob travels the globe with his electrical magic encountering in mankind both good and evil. As much science fiction as fantasy, Baum incorporates historic figures into The Master Key. As in many of his fantasies, some of Baum’s fantastic pieces have come about in the 125 years since this novel was published. For example, an “Illimitable Communicator” enables a person, wherever they are, to converse with people in any part of the world. In 1901 Ham radio was growing popular, but modern cell phones? They only lived in the vivid imaginations of those like Frank and Rob Baum. Presented by Carrie Hedges Carrie Hedges entered Oz through the MGM film as a young child. Once she learned to read—and found Oz books at her local library—she was hooked. Her local librarian signed her up for membership in The International Wizard of Oz Club. Sixty-two years later, she’s led conventions, spoken and performed at events, and served seven years as Oz Club President. Carrie’s presentation for TeslaCon began when she co-chaired a 2001, “2001: A Space Ozdyssy” convention exploring the influence Oz has had on science fiction. From her presentation at the convention, she developed an article, “The Master Key: Its Electrical Origins,” which was published in the Winter 2001 Baum Bugle, Vol. 45, No. 3. Professionally, Carrie began her career as an assistant editor on the American Bar Association Journal. She was graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983, and was a law clerk in 1984-85 for the Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California. She then returned to Chicago, the birthplace of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and worked as a guardian ad litem, representing abused and neglected children, at the Juvenile Court of Cook County. Carrie recently retired from a 20-year stint as a Staff Attorney with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Carrie also served 23 years on the Board of the Chicago Children’s Choir, an organization that reaches almost 3,000 children in the Chicago area. She’s currently persuing a second career as a cabaret singer. After all, when you live in the Land of Oz, nothing is impossible.
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