4 minute read
Little Mermaid
from Spotlight March 2021
by Spotlight
4 A and E
NOW SHOWING: “THE LITTLE MERMAID”
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This school year may be different but one thing is the same, the plays and musicals put on by the theater department. Each year, the performing arts department combines forces to create the school musical. Like other groups, activities, and sports, the obstacles to doing what they loved presented by COVID-19 were daunting. Due to mask-wearing and social distancing imposed by COVID-19, unique accommodations had to be made. The production chosen this year is “The Little Mermaid,” a fun and inspiring Disney performance. Theater director, Reed Uthe, is in charge of the musical. Formerly in command of the speech and drama department at Lakewood Middle School, his first musical as a high school director is different from expected “In high school, everything’s offered at a higher caliber. The acting and the singing. There’s a lot of technical aspects to it,” Uthe said. Uthe had to look for solutions to overcome the challenges while still delivering a story through the musical. His idea? Lip-syncing. “Why not just record all of the audio, and then stage it with dance and movement and blocking and everything,” Uthe said. “So that’s what our plan is because that way, we won’t have to wear the super big surgical masks. If you’re actually singing this way since nobody’s technically singing out loud, there are no aerosols going out.” This creative solution allows actors to move around on stage without having to worry about mitigation of COVID-19. A safer environment is established for the performers and the audience. However, this new way of performing creates challenges for the actors. Another complex aspect of the musical this year is the technological factors that play into the set. The new technology used to enhance the set and play into storytelling posed a unique challenge. “My goal is to have digital backdrops instead of the physical ones that come down,” Uthe said. “We can project digital images that are like moving images. We’re running into some technical issues with projection lenses and screens and things but we’re working out on a few things,” This innovative solution, although challenging, allows for more creativity and freedom to play around with the background of each scene. Junior Gracie Hernandez plays the lead role of Ariel. As the lead, she is familiar with what is expected of her and the obstacles the musical presents. With the process struggles this year, she’s relying on her experiences dealing with auditions, masks, and technology. Auditions are one of the biggest aspects of any production. The usual buzz of nerves from students hoping to audition for the role that they want, was not possible.
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“We didn’t get to do them in groups this year. One person goes in at a time for the singing audition and then acting auditions are the same type of thing,” Hernandez said. Although the auditions brought some disappointment, Hernandez still pushed through the different processes. Throughout rehearsals, masks are always a requirement. This has created a new set of challenges. “I think it’s harder in the acting aspect,” Hernandez said. “Normally a lot of acting comes from your mouth when you’re talking and you can see your motion and stuff like that. But now, it’s from the nose up. Another thing is singing in general. You can’t hear other people as well so it takes a lot of studying your music and making sure you’re right because sometimes you can’t hear other people around you,” she said. Although the lip-syncing and masks make up a new challenge to overcome, Hernandez relayed that they have been figuring things out slowly to portray the best story they can. “We have a little bit of a longer span of time just so we have more time to really solidify some of this stuff because this will have a lot to do with recording and blocking on stage. It’s been a brand new dynamic with COVID-19,” Hernandez said. While making theater during the pandemic was challenging, Hernandez made the best out of what has happened so far. She makes sure to keep a positive attitude throughout the complicated process of the musical. Senior Ashely Warunigi plays the role of Andreina, one of the sisters, in “The Little Mermaid” and has also had to rely on her theater experiences. “I’m glad that we’re figuring out a way with the musical, we’re doing a lot of tech things which means the images are going to be so much cooler, so I’m excited about that,” Waruingi said. With the heavy technology for background sets, it was different for all of the actors who are a part of the musical. “It’s so strange because part of the pressure is singing live and singing well,” Waruingi said. “So being able to just like take a long time to make this musical perfect and just like overall really really awesome is really nice. And there’s less pressure which makes it more fun.” As a senior returning to the theater department for her last musical, Waruingi appreciates the break from the pressure and uniqueness of this year’s production. The performing arts department is overcoming the obstacles of creating a musical during a pandemic. The Little Mermaid will be performed on April 1, 2, and 3 at 7 p.m. in the PAC.
