For five particular students, the moment the curtain rises on Helias Catholic High School's spring musical, "The Little Mermaid," is exactly the one they've been waiting for.
"The Little Mermaid," the familiar story of Ariel who dreams of life on land and eventually trades her voice for legs, opens March 13, and Helias students have been preparing under the direction of Amy Pringer. But in the two years that Pringer has been involved in leading Helias productions, she has made it a priority to include students in more of the directorial work, giving them new ways to be involved and gain and demonstrate leadership skills.
Madeleine Truesdale and Olivia Hyman are Pringer's two student directors. Truesdale, a 16-year-old junior, and Olivia, a 15-year-old sophomore, said they had the opportunity to block some scenes, which is essentially determining where actors will be placed and move throughout a scene, and to provide overall help to Pringer.
"Directing has always interested me," Truesdale said, noting she really enjoys helping other students find their direction and guiding them along the way. "It's nice to be behind the scenes and seeing how it all works."
Hyman said the role has been both incredibly fun and stressful, noting the stress and challenge is what made it worthwhile. Her favorite part of being involved has been watching the cast and crew grow closer over the weeks of rehearsals and preparations, she said.
"Everyone's a lot closer," Hyman said. "Our love is a lot deeper."
Emma Jarrett, a 17-year-old junior, has taken the role of music director, essentially taking the lead on the musical aspects of the story, from where songs start and end to working with Pringer and the other students on choral arrangements. The experience has been a great one for Jarrett, who plans to use all that she learns as she works toward becoming a music teacher.
"Music is what I want to go into," Jarrett said.
Jarrett said she particularly enjoys seeing how all the different elements come together in the final production, starting from the music and slowly adding in everything from acting to dancing to sets. It's been a bit tough, she said, as she's also in the ensemble cast, as are Truesdale and Hyman, so in addition to their directing responsibilities, they all must remember their own parts on stage.
Addison Schroer, 16 and a sophomore, and Gabrielle Kampeter, 16 and a junior, are the choreographers for the show. Pringer said she couldn't have found anyone with more dance experience, as both have been dancing since age 3. Kampeter said the pair started work in July, with just the two of them in a room with music as they started to experiment with potential moves. To come up with routines, Kampeter said they would watch videos of different dances and Broadway shows.
"We know what will go with the music and flow together," Schroer said.
At the first dress rehearsal earlier this week, Schroer said it's really cool to see how far they've come from that point.
Choreographing "The Little Mermaid" is also the first time the pair has worked on their own, without an adult involved in coming up with the moves. Schroer said they learned the importance of adaptability, making sure to keep in mind the abilities of different cast members and their mobility inside different costumes. Both said they particularly enjoyed working with some of the grade school children in the cast.
Ron Vossen, production manager who has been on the Helias faculty for 41 years, takes the lead backstage, helping guide student crew members in their tasks. With the under the sea motif of "The Little Mermaid," much of the set must give the feeling of being underwater, with blue, green and teal colored foam adorning set dressing. Vossen said much of the building and painting of sets is done in his theater design class.
Vossen said he always enjoys seeing his students get involved and invested in the production, contributing and suggesting new ideas and techniques.
"That's what's fun about it," Vossen said.
All five student directors said they've had positive experiences with this show, learning so much about different aspects of theater while getting to have some ownership over the production. And all five said they are looking forward to seeing and hearing the audience reactions after that curtain rises.
"Our favorite thing is after the show," Schroer said, describing how they are anticipating seeing the audience smile and hearing laughs as they enjoy the show. "It's a great feeling."
"The Little Mermaid" is set for 7 p.m. March 13-14 and 2 p.m. March 15 at the Miller Performing Arts Center, 501 Madison St. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, and can be purchased by calling the Helias business office at 573-635-6139. If you're interested in seeing the show, don't wait to buy tickets. Shows were almost sold out by the second day of ticket sales.
"We're very fortunate that we've got a good following of parents and supporters," Vossen said.