A Little Peek Behind The Curtains

With the arrival of spring comes the arrival of the theatre company’s musical performance. This year, they’ll be performing a classic: The Little Mermaid.

According to director Heather McKaig, The Little Mermaid was chosen for this year’s musical as it is a show oriented towards younger audiences and their parents, yet still has appeal to general audiences.

Audience appeal is particularly important this year because after the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre company is trying to bring audiences back to watch their performances.

Students are chosen to lead specific crews that perform nearly every job and task during both the production process and the performances.

There are a wide range of crews, with some helping out during the show while others perform tasks in the background.

Examples include the construction crew, tasked with building the set and props out of materials such as wood and paint, as well as recycled old props, and the lighting and sound crews which prepare the technical aspects of the show, as well as operate them during the performance.

“I firmly believe in a student-driven program because educational theatre is not about the final product only, it is about what kids learn. Kids learn more the more they have power in decision-making and the chance to make mistakes and learn from them,” McKaig said. “The biggest pro is that we see kids grow so much. The con is that if students were not part of decision making and design, we would spend significantly less time on each. But it wouldn’t be worth it!”

McKaig admits that things aren’t always perfect, but it’s nothing the students haven’t dealt with before. As she puts it: “The struggles for this show are the same as every show, but different. By that I mean that you can predict that you will feel like you are running out of time and things will go wrong, but you never know what they will be.”

Performances will be this weekend in the Fuerst Auditorium, at 7:00 PM on Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd, as well as a matinee on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

Tickets are $10 for senior citizens and children under 12 years of age, $12 for middle and high school students, and $15 for adults.

Tickets can be purchased at novihs.seatyourself.biz.