Little Mermaid: A Glimpse Behind-the-Scenes

The last curtain has closed, the set has been struck, and the costumes packed away, but the students are still smiling. They made The Little Mermaid happen, and they are proud of their accomplishments. They will take one more bow!

Director Julie Filiberti shared, “ I have never been prouder of a group of kids. They created this show. They shared ideas, listened to each other, and each contributed to making the show their own. As director, I let them make the decisions about what the show should look like, let them critique each other, and let some of them try out leadership roles. I was extremely proud of the way they bonded as a team and coached each other.”

“Brooke Naylor who played Ariel was instrumental in making Little Mermaid a fabulous show. She helped develop choreography, she directed, and she was part of the Studio and Set Design Class working on the set. She was the exemplary role model for the younger drama students. They loved her, they listened to her and she was so patient and positive with them. And to top it off, she’s a very talented young actress.”

Casting for Little Mermaid began in the spring of last year with elementary, middle, and high school students filling 55 roles. Director Julie Filiberti and Producer Jerry Bailey worked tirelessly to pull the cast together. With such as large cast, leadership from within the show was also critical. The cast spent four days in the beginning of August working with Kali Santor on the choreography of the larger numbers.

Kali graduated in 2012 , but she gave a week of her time to work on this show. Kali had done choreography for the past three shows at BFA, and she was happy to come back to help with this one. “She was a talented mentor – the students all looked up to her.” BFA Alum Brian Senesac also returns annually to lend his expertise in lighting. BFA is committed to developing student leaders and many return the favor!

The BFA Studio and Set Design Class worked for months with art teacher Emily Garland to design and built huge and fanciful sets with carpentry support from John Tague and Tom Lane. A host of school and community volunteers created elaborate costumes.

The back stage crew also had their work cut out for them. Moving a 20′ ship through the auditorium, moving a 16′ rock island on and off the stage, and moving all the other large set design pieces over the course of the four shows left them exhausted.

“The kids were extremely excited about producing this show. There is definitely a drama team. They have bonded and keep coming back for more. They are already talking about next year’s show.”

As a drama team, we will very much miss our 3 departing seniors: Brooke Naylor, Emma Collins, and Shivram Singh. They are guilty of putting their all into this show.”

Bravo!