The Little Mermaid: behind the scenes

The+Little+Mermaid%3A+behind+the+scenes

Katie Cottrill, Staff Writer

Seymour High Schools Varsity Chorale put together an excellent show of The Little Mermaid. Mr. Kyle Karum announced the musical in August and got all the students pumped for the upcoming months of work.

Throughout the months, the leads and understudies worked hard to learn their lines and songs. Divided into smaller casts labeled with white, red, blue and yellow, the Varsity Chorale singers worked to perfect the dances and songs as well.

While the choir was working hard, the pit was doing their part to get the show ready as well. On November 1st the choir and pit combined during their first day of tech week. Tech Week was a long stretch for some, because students would be at school till 9 pm most nights.

Liza Stuckwish(Ariel) was quite excited to see how the show would pan out: “I am quite excited to bring this character to life and really embrace this part.” In the end she was a little upset because it was her final show as an SHS student. “I don’t think this is it for me, I think wherever I go to college I’ll find music.”

On day 1 of Tech Week the cast worked on only Act I to see what they had to work with and what they could improve or change. They had also worked Act I the day before in class.

On Wednesday during class the cast walked through Act II and really got into the show and started the last stretch before opening night. Wednesday night and Friday night they worked on Act II, but during the process Act II was a little sloppier that Act I had been.

After Thursday night, Mr. Karum really saw a glimpse of the real show. After Friday, Karum had told the cast and crew to rest up before the long week ahead of everyone. Once school started on Monday, the cast and crew hit the ground running into Dress Rehearsal Day I, and they had to stay at school up until 10 pm.

Tuesday night of Dress Rehearsal the understudies got the limelight and had the chance to run the show as an understudy cast. Karum had some real hope in the understudies and was super excited for the shows they got to perform.

Wednesday night was the last rehearsal before opening night and the cast and crew were ready. Thursday was a big day for the choir program and was the decider for how the rest of the year would go.

After Thursday’s incredible show, the cast, crew, and pit were relieved and ready to do it all over again the next day. Friday rolled around and some of the understudies started to get ready for their debut the next day. After Friday’s show most of the leads were relieved they got the next show off.

Saturday morning some of the understudies were there early to work on their scenes and songs. Before the matinee show, there were some nerves in the air for the understudies, but they ended up stealing the show!

After the show on Saturday night, many people were relieved that they only had one show left. The wind players got the Saturday matinee show off, and they were ready to have one show left.

Before the Sunday matinee the cast and crew said some final words and were relieved for the ending. After the final bows the cast and crew celebrated behind the curtain. The long stretch was over.

They had to tear down the set right after and they all put in the work to finish strong. When the final hour hit, the cast and crew were slowly realizing the whole experience was over. It was bittersweet for most of them. Carrie Miller, the tech director, brought a cake in for the final goodbyes. Everyone worked so hard and it all paid off in the end.