The cast of The Little Mermaid is ready to hit center stage on Thursday as another group was hard at work behind the scenes getting the spotlight ready.  

Lights, sound, make-up, and set changes are just some of the tasks that were undertaken by the crew, and for a lot of these students, this was their first experience working in live theater. 

“It's all big learning curves and they have come a long way,” said Kyle Whitehead, a director of the production. 

The audio team had to learn an all-new soundboard for this production which Kristina Fernandez and Liamlei Casilihan will be operating.

“I had some experience with microphones, but not on the soundboard,” said Fernandez.  

“It was a little stressful at the beginning because we had to figure out some technical issues,” said Casilihan. 

This was the first and last production for Casilihan, as she will be graduating at the end of the school year.  

“Our girl on lighting is only in ninth grade, but she has picked that up faster than fast,” said Whitehead.  

Melina Stead is a ninth-grade student who has been working hard to master the lighting board ahead of the premiere.  

“This was my first one, I haven’t really done anything else,” said Stead. “But I mean, hopefully, I’m going to do it again.” 

The production enlisted the help of additional staff members and students to build the props.  

“Tara Johns and our construction department have been building the sets with her kids,” said Whitehead. “It’s been very much a school community and community effort for this show.” 

Maria Walter, from Soul Step Studio, came to assist with choreography.  

“She’s assisted with choreography on several of our shows,” said Whitehead.  

Former student Brooke Wilson also returned to ECS to work as a stage manager on the production to keep everyone on time, and on cue.  

Megan Casemore, who worked as the vocal coach on the production said she is excited to see live theater back in the schools in the community.  

“2018 was the last one, and a lot of these kids have never been on stage before,” said Casemore. “They have come so far and are learning so much from this experience. 

The wardrobe department and stage crew also took advantage of dress rehearsals to iron out any problems they may have had.  

“We had some mishaps, but we figured it out,” said the wardrobe department.  

“I’m really impressed with how far they have come, as a cast and as a team”, said Jillian Connelly a director of the production. 

You can find out more information about the show here.