The magic of Market Theatre’s park shows is only created with the collaboration of our dedicated creative teams and casts. With our first park show of the year opening this week, we wanted to interview some of our Little Mermaid team members.

We’re proud to present: Sarah Bear Alvarez (Props Designer), Mary-Catherine Brunson (Ariel), Marrett Fisk (Flounder) , Lin Hagen (Costume Designer), Dr. Amber James (Music Director), Diane B. Lee (Director), Thor Raines (Assistant Director/Choreographer), Absalon Richardson (Sebastian), Evelyn Ruff (Wig & Makeup Designer), and Addie Sheek (Ursula).

Reserved Seats

How many park shows have you done with Market Theatre?

This is my first park show! - Bear (Props Designer)

Six different shows! - Diane (Director)

I’ve been in two park shows, and this is my first time designing for a park show! My first park show with Market was Into The Woods where I played Little Red. - Evelyn (Wig & Makeup Designer)

This is my first park show! - Amber (Music Director)

I have worked on three musicals presented in the park (Shrek, Mamma Mia, and now The Little Mermaid). I also costumed 5 Shakespeare in the Park shows: Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, The Adventures of Pericles, and The Tempest. - Lin (Costume Designer)

Three! Now this is four! - Thor (Asst. Director & Choreographer)

What attracted you to a park show?

The fact that it was The Little Mermaid and Sebastian was one of my dream roles. I swore off park shows, actually, but when they announced the season, I was like "I have to audition! I have to audition! I have to audition!" - Absalon (Sebastian)

Going to see it every single year, I love the energy, and I think it's one of my favorite events of the year! I just wanted to be a part of it and had to join in on the fun. - Mary-Catherine (Ariel)

I thought it was a really fun opportunity to showcase a different space in Anderson and allow audiences to have a free experience of theatre. It's a really fun way to bring new people into the Market community. - Thor (Asst. Director & Choreographer)

I have attended them in the past, and I have always wanted to collaborate with Market outside of the annual 24 Hour Musical. - **Amber (Music Director)**

Listen, first of all, Ursala's a dream role, and when I got the chance to play her, it was just gonna be the highlight of my theatrical career. So, this was really super exciting to hear, and Market's such a wonderful theatre. I truly love Market's focus on the Arts for All, particularly the park show with its accessibility to being free and open to children and families throughout the Anderson and surrounding communities; that really drew me in because I'm a big advocate for the arts and I believe they should be open to as many people that want to enjoy it as possible. - Addie (Ursula)

Shakespeare to begin with. A friend of mine who worked for the city had some grant money, and she wanted to do Shakespeare in the Park. She said, "Would you like to do it?" and I said, "I will produce it, but I will not direct it." So, I got Dr. Larson [from Anderson University] to direct it, and we did A Midsummer Night's Dream to start off with. - Diane (Director)

What's different about doing or creating theatre in a public park compared to a theatre? Are there any special considerations to keep in mind?

There are lots of challenges! The biggest challenge is the weather and having outside factors like car sounds and things like that that we have to contend with. But it's also a really cool way to activate a part of Anderson that doesn't often see this much participation. - **Thor (Asst. Director & Choreographer)**

There’s a huge difference in costuming a show outdoors versus indoors. When outdoors, all costumes are subject to weather changes. Everything can get wet if it rains, and they get wetter yet when actors are working in the summer and sweating more. There’s little clean, dry, organized storage space for costume pieces outdoors, and nothing can be left out in an unsecured space. So, for every show, costumes must be transported into and out of the park. When indoors, you have the luxury of tables, racks, cubbies, etc., to store costumes and keep them in a climate-controlled environment. - Lin (Costume Designer)

There are SO many differences in outdoor theatre vs indoor theatre, but the biggest one I’ve encountered so far is the energy needed to project your performance to all corners of the park. In a hot, humid environment where your entrances and exits are quite a ways away, giving that energy can be incredibly draining. It’s a learning curve for sure! - Evelyn (Wig & Makeup Designer)

EVERYTHING. You have to consider that people are sitting everywhere. You have to have a microphone system because they cannot hear you without microphones. Everything has to be bigger, bolder, and more beautiful so they attract your attention because so much else is going on. - Diane (Director)

Definitely, the weather and anyone can come watch you practice, so when you're practicing, it's like a show. - **Marett (Flounder)**

Everything is much bigger!! I've had to keep in mind that the props need to be slightly more over the top than usual. Not only does the show itself demand it, but so does the park. So it's doubly big! - Bear (Props Designer)

Hydration all the time. Having various forms of fans, and not audience fans (that's fun too), but some kind of fan. I'm wearing a giant ball gown, so, in addition, I have one around my neck, and I have one under my ball gown. That's been key to survival in the South Carolina humidity. - Addie (Ursula)

Music directing for a park show is quite different from the theater setting I am used to. It is more difficult to hear each other when singing due to being outside and often being separated by space. That makes everything more difficult. - Amber (Music Director)

What has been the most challenging aspect to bring to life on stage, and how are you addressing it?

With this show in particular, bringing out aquatic life, being under the sea, and setting those scenes has been the most challenging, but I think we've achieved that through lighting and characterization. - Thor (Asst. Director/Choreographer)

The prop list for this show has been a doozy. Most of it I've been having to visit multiple theaters in the Upstate to borrow. But that's something I love about working in theater here: all our theaters help each other out! Somehow, that's been more challenging than making a light-up trident. - Bear (Props Designer)

My challenge with hair and makeup has been juggling detail with time constraints, as actors need to change characters quickly between scenes. Finding hair designs that can be used for all characters an actor plays, as well as designing makeup that is easy enough to apply and take off quickly (but still looks interesting), is proving to be difficult. - Evelyn (Wig & Makeup Designer)

Making sure that the actors are wearing the minimum amount of clothing in the summer heat is important, as well as proper shoes on the rough pavement of the park. Sourcing the best materials for building costumes has been important. For instance, I found a furry/feathery white material to make all the seagull costumes, and then added wing-shaped sleeves to vests. Sebastian was a challenge to give him special crab claws, but a friend can fabricate costume pieces; he has made beautiful articulating claws as well as a shark fin for one of the sea creatures. - Lin (Costume Designer)

This story and its characters are iconic across generations. How are you honoring audience expectations, and what creative elements are you incorporating to make it your own or a Market show?

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorites. I think that Market has established itself in Wren Park, and therefore, it is easy for audiences to associate theatre in that space with Market Theatre. By putting The Little Mermaid there, it further solidifies the “Art is for Everyone” idea. I’m just a small part of making it as whimsical as possible! - Evelyn (Wig & Makeup Designer)

I have literally grown up with The Little Mermaid. It came out when I was one, so it was one of the first Disney movies I can remember truly experiencing. As much as I loved Ariel, I always had a soft spot for Ursula and her businesswoman ways. I think she's woefully misunderstood in trying to help her niece understand contract law. So, I wanted to make sure that the iconic songs were ones that people could recognize, including the original voice actress and vocalist, but also be able to bring on my own sass to it all and really embrace the fantastical costuming that she brings. She's a diva! It's been fun to pour into that. - Addie (Ursula)

I think Sebastian is a very eccentric character with his Jamaican accent, and he's well-loved because he's very protective of Ariel. I wanted to keep that aspect while putting some "Absalon-isms" in it and trying to make it my own through my speech patterns and my inflections, as well as my vocals. - **Absalon (Sebastian)**

I watched lots of people play Flounder, and I took what I liked from theirs. I would say my lines over and over and do them different[ly] every time and record myself so I can see which I liked. - Marett (Flounder)

I love Ariel because she is such a curious girl. I feel like she's a really relatable princess, one of the most relatable ones out there, because the entire show, she is actively seeking out her dream, and I think that inspires a lot of young girls. I also think I've made her my own in the sense that I've related some of my personal struggles to translating that into her character and still being Ariel and being like the original movie. I watched so much material about it, and I feel like I've really honed into one final soup of everyone. - Mary-Catherine (Ariel)

This is something I often have to balance, especially with props. I've done shows like Cinderella and Wizard of Oz that also required this of me. But that's half the fun!! I grew up seeing and loving these iconic props on film, and now I get to make them myself! It's thrilling! I usually take inspiration from the original, and then dream. Sometimes, technical elements also change the design slightly. For instance, the trident had to be made in 3 parts, so I added the details on the staff for support. The seashell is even hiding some electronics. But it also looks really cool and is unique. So it's a mix of balancing inspiration, my own design, and technical challenges. It's a lot to think about, but it's what I love! - Bear (Props Designer)

What's something you hope audiences take away from this show?

I just really hope that they feel so inspired after this show. I want the audience to leave with that and feel that whimsy that Disney brings. - Mary-Catherine (Ariel)

The magic! Absolutely the magic. It's an iconic story and I love that any way that you tell it that you're going to feel those same emotions, you're going to feel Ariel's dreams and desires, you're going to feel a father's heartbreak, you're going to feel a prince not sure what he wants to step into in his life, you're going to feel an evil sea witch who really wanted to try and get some form of revenge--I think people are going to see themselves in different characters and that's always the fun part about theatre to me. - Addie (Ursula)

Always put yourself first. Ariel has faith in what she believes, and she goes for it! I think that's something anyone should live by and strive for because you only live once, and you can only live for yourself. You have to live your life for yourself. - Absalon (Sebastian)

If you could be any character in the show, who would it be and why?

Ursula, because I love playing evil characters! I think it's so fun! - Marett (Flounder)

I think it would be really fun to be one of Ursula's eels because Addie is so fun, and I think it would be fun to be one of her lackeys. - Thor (Asst. Director & Choreographer)

I think, honestly, I love the Mersisters. I would love to play at least one of them. They are all so funny, and I think they are some of the funniest characters in this show, especially our actors who are playing them--they're so talented. - Mary-Catherine (Ariel)

Ursula! UR-SA-LAAAA! I LOVE a good villain, and I think Ursula is such an interesting, dynamic, funny, and witty character. Without her, you really don't have a show. I really would have loved to play Ursula! - Absalon (Sebastian)

One of the Mersisters, maybe? That way, I get to be a royal mermaid, but I don't have to fight Ursula. Win-win! - Bear (Props Designer)

Ursula, because she's such a wonderful diva and so terrible! - Diane (Director)

I would be Flounder! Such fun songs and a beloved character! - Evelyn (Wig & Makeup Designer)

Scuttle! I love it, and our Connor, he's always on a hundred, and I love that. I love the voice inflections he brings to it. "Positoovity" is such a fun song that's not in the film but is in the Broadway show, and I think people are gonna just enjoy that, especially with the iconic dancing from our Choreographer and Assistant Director, Thor. - Addie (Ursula)

Special thanks to Alison Duffy, co-Stage Manager for the show, for helping conduct these interviews, and to the cast and creative team who participated!

The Little Mermaid runs June 12 - 16 at 7 PM in Carolina Wren Park. All shows are free to the public. If you would like to reserve a premium seat, please visit markettheatre.org/tickets to purchase one in advance.

If you can’t make it to The Little Mermaid or if you LOVED it, we’ll be back in the park from August 21 - 25 with The Comedy of Errors. Tickets for reserved seats will be available on our website starting July 10.