ONE of Disney's best-loved musicals will be brought to life by Redlands College students this month.
With more than 100 cast and crew members, The Little Mermaid will be the school's biggest production, and is set to be staged at the Redlands Performing Arts Centre on May 27, 28 and 29.
Students have been rehearsing hard for six months, and with the shows fast approaching, Year 12 student Alissa Kater, who plays the evil sea witch Ursula, said the cast was feeling nervous and excited.
"It's the kind of thing where you don't realise it's hard work at the time because we're having such a good time," she said.
The song and dance-heavy production was a new challenge for many cast members.
Blaise Allart, who plays Prince Eric, said the show had pushed him outside his comfort zone to become a better performer.
"I had to build my confidence up to even audition, because it's nothing I've ever done before," he said.
"The singing and the dancing was all new to me. It's been amazing though. It's the most rewarding thing."
Allie Parsons will take on the lead role of Ariel, and said it had been the experience of a lifetime.
"She's such a classic Disney princess but then she knows how to stand up for herself and do what she thinks is right," she said.
"This is my first lead so I had to learn a lot about on-stage chemistry and acting with other people."
Director Lucy Murphy said the students had improved hugely through 27 weeks of rehearsals.
"That's hours upon hours upon hours of work," she said.
"It's so amazing to see the kids grow in their skills.
"We've got Year 12 kids mixing with Year 4 kids.
"There have been wonderful relationships built and that's what's so special about doing a school musical.
"The product at the end we want to be fantastic, and it will be, because the kids are so talented and keen, but it's the process that's much more important to us and why we volunteer all of our time and hours to do it after school."
Miko Blakley, double cast as Ariel, said her castmates had become like family to her.
"We have each other's backs through everything."
The Little Mermaid is on at RPAC on May 27, 28 and 29. Tickets are on sale through RPAC.
