Palmerton Drama Club presents ‘The Little Mermaid Jr.’

Palmerton Drama Club’s production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.” will begin its two-day run on Saturday night.

The production, which will be performed at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday in the high school auditorium, features students from all buildings in grades 5-8.

It is the third junior production for the drama club, following “Mulan” and “The Lion King” in previous years.

“The young students who auditioned for ‘Mulan’ and ‘Lion King’ over the course of the past two years were mostly new to being involved in any kind of musical production,” drama club adviser Brent Harris said. “Those shows, for both the cast and crew, were a bit of an uncharted territory. This time around, students auditioned already talking about how they had seen those shows and were excited to be a part of them. The students who were in them were excited to share their experiences with the new club members. Right now, we have a strong culture of students who want to pass the torch and show the next generation of actors how to put a show together. It’s been a great opportunity to watch students work on both sides of this production.”

Getting students involved in the drama club at an earlier age has helped them tremendously as they transition to high school productions.

Harris said many of the high schools’ leads over the past few years had gotten their start in junior shows that were done at Towamensing Elementary School such as “Seussical the Musical,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and “The Jungle Book.”

“The drama club junior productions are offering more stage time for students to prepare for the larger roles in the high school productions,” he said. “This time allows them to get comfortable on stage, learn the process of bringing a character to life, and to feel the dynamics of a live audience.”

The practice and experience also benefits students as a real world application.

“Many of our club’s members are quick to overcome shyness they might have in classroom presentations, in other clubs like FBLA or mock trial, or even in social settings throughout the school,” Harris said. “It seems that being on stage helps them to ‘break out of their shell’ and develop strong presentation skills before other students might.”

“Little Mermaid Jr.” will consist of Palmerton’s usual production team including Harris as director, Brandyn Miller as stage manager, Resa Hall as music director, and Chrissy Rehatchek as choreographer.

The group, Harris points out, serve only as advisers. The rest of the production is up to the students.

“We occasionally step in to help out, but this is a show put together by students from the top down,” Harris said. “Set building for this production started in the third week of July when they could have walked away and simply enjoyed their summer. I think these junior shows stand as a testament to the talent and commitment these kids have.”

While putting together “The Little Mermaid Jr.,” advisers, Harris added, have had the opportunity to see students think creatively, to construct and build, to direct and lead, to take direction and constructive criticism and to work as a team.

Students had three dress rehearsals this week leading up to Saturday’s opening.

“They have rehearsals that go well, where everyone leaves with a smile and they have rehearsals that don’t, where everyone feels frustration and disappointment,” Harris said. “Each time, they come back again to make the show as good as it can possibly be. These kids show the bright future our club has in store.”

Tickets remain available at phsdramaclub.ludus.com. Doors open a half-hour before each performance.