Rehearsals Begin For Disney’s The Little Mermaid

This Week’s Author
Abby Scheller


This week’s LITTLE MERMAID updates is written by senior Abby Scheller. Abby is an ITS Member and is portraying the role of Flounder in this season’s production of DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID.

Exciting events are happening at Gibson Southern Theatre with their production of DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID. Immediately after Vaudeville, students began to prepare for auditioning for the spring musical in hopes of becoming a part of the cast. Students were eager to observe the cast list. After students found out their roles, they had two weeks to prepare for the beginning of rehearsal.

The first day returning from break, the cast had a first read and sing-through together after school. Throughout the rehearsal, the students were supportive and excited to see each character’s portrayal. Each week students are given a select number of scenes that will be rehearsed throughout the week. Their focus for those scenes is memorization and stage blocking. On Tuesday, characters from those selected scenes attended the rehearsal to understand those scenes. Mrs. Kathy Parks greatly assisted the cast to develop their character with dialogue and stage presence. With the critiques and compliments given, the cast has already witnessed growth in their characters. The next day, the students had some time to memorize lines for the scenes to be off-book on Thursday for stage blocking. Due to weather conditions, there was no rehearsal on Thursday to create staging for the four selected scenes.

Fortunately, the weather did not affect the Saturday workday. During workdays, parents and students are working on set pieces and costumes. Many students helped the costume ladies with fabric cutting, while many fathers helped with building sets. Others may have helped clean the costume room or the gray room, or done little tasks to help each department. The title role, Ariel, played by Brooklyn Casburn, said, “It was incredible to get started. Everyone is working so hard already. I cannot wait to keep going and to gradually see this process come to life!”

Week one of THE LITTLE MERMAID was an absolute success! Gibson Southern Theatre is enthusiastic about continuing the process and cannot wait for audiences’ to see the final product. Mark your calendars to witness the magic of THE LITTLE MERMAID with performances on March 11th, 12th, and 13th. Follow the cast and crew adventures for the next nine weeks to witness the musical process and fun behind-the-scenes action.