When The Waves Meet The Stage

Maclay’s Production of “The Little Mermaid”

Photo by Kayleigh Mitchell / Maclay Andalusian

Every spring, Maclay School’s theatre department performs stunning shows, with this year’s being “The Little Mermaid.” The musical is based on Disney's 1989 animated film, following Ariel, a young mermaid, as she sacrifices her voice to win the heart of a human prince. The show is an emotionally driven production that, beneath the bright costumes and familiar songs, reflects a story about longing, identity, and transformation. 

To make this show as emotionally driven as its source material, the musical requires show stopping actors, and the cast certainly lives up to this standard. Played by junior Ella Pike, Ariel is truly brought to life in the show and the character feeling completely embodied by the actress. 

“I think I brought in a lot of my own natural ways of being, from her bubbly energy to her ambition to her desperate need for independence.” Pike said. “Like Ariel, I have big dreams and often have to step out of my comfort zones in heading towards them.”

Besides Pike, the other actors in the show also make it a wonderful experience. With senior Crew Carlile as Eric, sophomore Sloan Strickland as Ursala, junior Campbell Ruff as Scuttle, senior Mya Rutledge as Sebastian, senior Yosef Kasper as King Trident, and seventh grader Ella Olaitan as Flounder, the core cast is star studded from top to bottom. Every cast member brings new light to their character, making the show that many people have seen feel brand new. In addition to this core cast, the supporting actors each brought their own charm through the various roles throughout the show. Overall, the cast contains 54 actors.

Given the scale of this production, issues are bound to come. With so many different students in rehearsals, weeks are needed to fully prepare the show. In addition, lots of direction is required to help these young actors perfect their craft. All of these issues are solved by two key educators behind the theatre department: upper school theatre director Millie Seckel and upper school vocal dance teacher Adia Seckel.

“Balancing classes and rehearsals will always be difficult since both take lots of time and energy.” Pike said. “It was made easier by all of my wonderful teachers being understanding about the show, especially in the two weeks prior to opening. However, the Seckels were really great about giving us time for homework and heavily encouraging us to use that time wisely.”

The Seckels are a key component behind the production of Maclay’s theatre department: both are very dedicated to the craft and put in hours of their time to help perfect the shows that are put on stage. The pair work together to block the entire show for the performers, managing the array of schedules each student has. Between the school trips and other conflicts, it is no easy task to consistently rehearse with the large cast.

“The hardest part of putting on a production, especially when you are working with anybody, especially with students, is the dedication of time.” Millie Seckel said. “Working around that is difficult, but managing to get around that difficulty leads to growth. So, we give them time to sit together, do homework, and we call on them as we need them.”

Outside of directing the shows, the Seckels also devote lots of their time into designing the costumes. 

“This year I had 146 costumes that I had to make.” Millie Seckel said. “It’s a lot of work and dedication. I did have a few volunteers come in at the end. We also taught some of the kids less interested in tech how to sew, which helped.” 

Another thing Maclay’s production of “The Little Mermaid” does exceptionally well thanks to the Seckels’ set designing skills is create an underwater setting. Given that a majority of the show takes place underwater, it can be difficult to create the illusion that characters are “swimming” on a stage. To compensate for this, the department decided to change how their audience is positioned, opting for a thrust, or a three sided stage that is surrounded on the front, left and right. This set design allows for the cast to flood in onto the floor in front of the audience, while being below the stage itself, giving the illusion that certain events take place below the surface. 

With the Seckels expertise being majorly involved with set design, costumes, and blocking the show, it left students to manage the technical elements of the show. These students include junior David Barton and junior Jacob Patty. The pair managed lights and sound during the show.

“David was a godsend. He did lights, and he was very good at the lights.” Millie Seckel said. “And Jacob was great on the sound, although it did frustrate him a lot.”

Altogether, the production of “The Little Mermaid” was well done. The show itself was impressive and all the elements created a stunning piece of art.