Throughout the past few months the Lake Ridge theater has been working on their newest musical, The Little Mermaid. The cast, crew, and teachers have been working hard to build a show that their audience will enjoy. From rehearsals to set preparations, the department has come together to share their passion for musical theater.
Because of The Little Mermaid’s popularity, students were eager to audition for well-known roles such as Ariel and Prince Eric. Senior Alyse Pena worked hard during the audition process in order to get the role of Ariel. Pena looks forward to seeing the joy on the audience’s faces as she performs a role she is passionate about.
“It feels like a dream come true to be able to play Ariel. I’ve really been memorizing my lines, really making sure all my notes are correct, making sure I know my music very well, and the connections between my lines. My expectations for the show is that everybody’s gonna have a great time watching our show, it won’t always be perfect, but it will be a great time and a great show no matter what happens,” Pena said. “I’m so excited for our fifth grade show, where all the fifth graders get to come on a field trip to come see the show. I think it will be great to connect with all the kids and be able to really bring one of their childhood movies to life.”
The charming Prince Eric is played by junior Davis Hall. With many theater students dreaming of getting a lead role, playing such a significant part in the musical is one for the books. Having not expected to get the role, Hall is both stressed and thrilled at the same time.
“It was kind of crazy because I wasn’t really expecting it [the lead role]. It’s just been really cool to see, and it’s been really hard work, doing all of this stuff, because I’ve never been a lead before, but it’s fun. I’ve had to be practicing at home, getting to every rehearsal I can, singing songs in the car, and forcing my family to run lines with me,” Hall said. “I’m hoping it’s gonna be good because we’re kind of having to rush some things. The set is coming in late, and we’re adding the orchestra in, so it’s gonna be a little hard, but I think we can do it.”
For theater teacher Tianta Harrison having yet another play to work on is exciting. Every time new kids take the stage, it’s an opportunity to share her passion for theater with a new generation. Harrison sees all the hard work the students put in and how far they’ve come, encouraging her excitement as their director.
“I think expectations for me is that each student will just bring their own unique skill set to the production, and that our beautiful puzzle will be the end result that everybody will get to see. This was actually not our original pick this year, unfortunately. We chose The Little Mermaid as kind of a secondary choice. It was the best fit for showcasing all of the rich talent that we have in the department,” Harrison said. “Our biggest challenge has been getting the show to where it can move so we are not performing it on campus. We are at the Performing Arts Center, so making sure that all of our pieces and things are movable and can be transported is something that’s different for all of us. We focus on clear communication so that we’re all on the same page. Just empowering the students to make choices and discover more of who they are and what they bring to the artistic table has probably been the two things that I would say are the highlights going in.”
The stage manager is a key part of any musical. They are in charge of keeping things organized and ensuring the show goes well. Freshman Hayley Lodal, the stage manager, has been working tirelessly throughout rehearsals to ensure a successful show. To make things run smoothly her attention can’t falter even for a second, leaving a lot of pressure on her shoulders.
“I write down cues in the script, on the show, and I will be on the headset calling cues to the box and they will be controlling the lights, the sound, prop movement, all sorts of stuff like that. Last time I was not on top of my script, and I wasn’t keeping up with stuff, but this time, I have been a lot more responsible. I need to look out for bad behavior, not listening, and then also, people potentially getting hurt, and then making sure they get cues come on time,” Lodal said. “I think the show is going to go really well and everyone’s going to do the best that they can. My favorite part so far has been just seeing everyone from the beginning to the end and seeing how we started out versus how everyone has grown and gotten better since then.”
The theater department has gone above and beyond to make this show special by including the Lake Ridge band in the production. A few select students have been chosen to play in the show’s ensemble. Senior Nia Salaam has her work cut out for her as she works with the ensemble to prepare for the performance.
“I’ve played in one musical orchestra before, but a smaller ensemble makes it easier to work out little mistakes, so we can have a cleaner show. It’s also a different sound, it sounds like we’re missing people, but we still sound great. There’s a lot more going on in the show, a lot more times that we have to play than in band pieces but the good thing about it is, it’s rather repetitive, so once you learn those motifs, you can reapply them throughout the whole show. I think that I’ve worked really hard over the last four years that I’ve been here on oboe and in marching band, that I’ve been able to prove to the directors that I’d be able to handle this responsibility,” Salaam said. “The Little Mermaid is a really fun show, it has really cool music that I’m excited to play in front of an audience. In a large ensemble, if you make a small mistake, it’s very easy that the audience won’t notice it, but in a smaller ensemble, you have to practice a lot more to make sure that you know your part completely. I’m very excited to see what the theater has put together.”
With The Little Mermaid being highly anticipated, the theater program worked their hardest to create a production they are proud of. They have rehearsed constantly to make the show amazing for their audience. From the first rehearsal to the final performance, the theater department has given their all to creating a magical show.