The Little Mermaid Draws Players to New Field

By Maddie Naeve

Whether they are performing in football, wrestling, track, or baseball, juniors Paul Ryan, Andrew Louwagie, and Mitchell Louwagie could have been classified as “jocks”.  However, when they auditioned for ensemble in the school musical Feb. 6, they broke the theoretical wall between the arts and athletics. The three will perform in The Little Mermaid this weekend and next.

“I was encouraged to audition for the musical by my good friend Ryan Clark, but I was not anticipating the amount of time commitment required in order to participate,” said Ryan. He admitted that although rehearsal took up a large portion of his time, he claims to have enjoyed the numerous hours in the auditorium. Whether it was being able to meet new people or just having fun on stage, Ryan has found a new appreciation for those more involved in drama.

“I was inspired to take part in this year’s musical because of the joy on the actors’ faces in the Drowsy Chaperone, and that is truly when I began to consider auditioning for this years musical,” said Andrew. He was cast to be Windward, one of King Triton’s guards, along with his brother Mitchell, who was cast as Windward’s sidekick Leeward. Being a part of the musical is difficult for Andrew because he had to balance school, homework, religious education, raising pigs, and track. Although his schedule may have been filled to the brim, Andrew enjoyed seeing all the aspects of the show come together to make a beautiful performance.

“I didn’t know if I was going to end up auditioning until the day of, when I was encouraged by some friends to do so,” said Mitchell. Throughout his experience in the drama department, he gained a new appreciation for the amount of work that is put into each show. The long rehearsals from 6 to 10 each night and the tech working together to create an extravagant prop has opened his eyes to the amount of effort required to put together a seamless show. He looks upon the musical as an opportunity to reach out of his original group of friends to form new bonds with people involved in drama.  

Opening night is Saturday, April 14 at 7 p.m. and April 15 at 2 p.m. There is a second chance to see the musical next weekend on Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. along with the closing night showing on Saturday April 21 at 7 p.m.