presents

Disney’s The Little Mermaid April 29 — May 2, 2021

Director & Choreographer Music Director Emily F. Debbie Chateau Vaughn

music by lyrics by book by ALAN HOWARD DOUG MENKEN ASHMAN & WRIGHT GLENN SLATER Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Director & Costume Design Choreographer Lauren Jewell Emily F. Chateau Madeline Wright

Music Director Sound Engineering Debbie Vaughn Tim Hall Gage Markey Stage Manager Briana Patton Lighting Design Luke Dabney Ryan McCrory Producer Michael Bollinger

Run Crew Kennedy Franklin, Hannah Pickett, Anna Steinbrecher, Luke Wright

There will be one intermission. No photography or recording will be allowed. Please silence all cell phones. SPECIAL THANKS TO

DeSoto Family Theatre, Carolyn Walker, Jen Gillette, Julia Chateau, & BPACC House Managers: Vicki Dabney, Jessica Gibbs, Beth Thorne OUR SPONSORS DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Costume Design We have been on quite a wild ride from deciding on this show to having you in the audience reading this note. In February of 2020, the powers that be decided Lauren Jewell that BPACC would produce a youth production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid in Madeline Wright 2021. By March, it was announced to the community and, only a week later, the world shut down. Sound Engineering The smart choice would have been to postpone the show, pick a smaller Tim Hall production, or, honestly, cancel it all together – but we didn’t. We stubbornly held Gage Markey our breath and waited for COVID-19 to pass. No one could have predicted that accommodations would still need to be made over a year later—but make them we Lighting Design did. This cast is a powerhouse of strength, determination, and passion. Everyone else had shut their doors on these young people, but we stayed open. I told myself, Ryan McCrory “If we can safely produce art and still give these students amazing memories, I will move heaven and earth to make it happen.”

It took fourteen months of my life and seven months of theirs, but here we are with a fully realized show. Of course, it had to be The Little Mermaid; without Disney’s special brand of magic this could never have been possible. The City of Bartlett truly put every precaution in place to provide the safest environment for these young people to create in – no expense or safety measure was spared. The students adhered to every rule and kept their heads up as we took long safety breaks, with one lasting an entire month. When they came back, it was clear the students had practiced at home and were ready to hit the ground running, as if no time had passed.

As a director, I could not have asked for more (in fact, I would have settled for a lot less). These students have worked for months because they wanted to do so. These students have chosen to show up for rehearsals more than an hour early and stayed over an hour late every single day to get in more practice. These students have asked for more and more responsibilities and have taken ownership of many creative aspects of the production. I have never worked with such dedicated and hard-work- ing students. They made every minute of this process pure joy for me.

I am so excited to be sharing their final product with you. This is not been a normal process; this is not our normal show. This is a tribute to what love looks like. These kids are singing and dancing and acting their hearts out on this stage to give you—and themselves—a gift of love. We are beyond excited to finally share our show with you.

We hope it brings some happiness and light into your lives after such a dark year. It certainly has done so for us.

Emily Chateau

Thank you and enjoy the show! CAST

ARIEL Erin McKee ERIC Cole Gansman SEBASTIAN Jackson Casteel URSULA Perri Balentine KING TRITON Cole Reed GRIMSBY Eddie Schauwecker* FLOUNDER Olivia Kaiser PILOT/LEEWARD Luke Flowers SCUTTLE Gavin Pollan FLOTSAM Madeline Wright JETSAM Lauren Jewell WINDWARD Max Wright CHEF LOUIS Alexander Osborne

MERSISTERS ENSEMBLE

Emily Coates Caroline Stancil Addie Conley* Mady Schauwecker C.Q. Gintz Rebekah Pickett Jocelyn Schulte Natalie Taylor * dance captain SONGS ACT I

Overture Part of Your World (Reprise) The World Above She’s in Love Fathoms Below Her Voice Daughters of Triton Under the Sea If Only (Triton’s Lament) If Only (Ariel’s Lament) Daddy’s Little Angel Sweet Child Part of Your World Poor Unfortunate Souls The Storm Act I Finale ACT II

Entrácte Kiss the Girl Positoovity Sweet Child (Reprise) Beyond my Wildest Dreams If Only (Quartet) Les Poisson The Contest Les Poissons (Reprise) Poor Unfortunate Souls One Step Closer (Reprise) Daddy’s Little Angel Ariel’s Transformation (Reprise) Finale Ultimo OUR CREATIVE TEAM

Emily F. Chateau Director & Choreographer

Emily F. Chateau is an actress, choreographer, and director and has been with BPACC for three years, both as the choreographer of 2019’s High School Musical and 2020’s Bye Bye Birdie, as well as starring in the most recent productions of the Sanders series.

Emily is a native of , Michigan, where she went to Western Michigan University for Musical Theatre Performance. After coming to Memphis twelve years ago, she has explored the greater Memphis theatre scene with great success, winning multiple Allie Awards and even an Ostrander for Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Morticia in Theatre Mem- phis’s The Addams Family.

Beyond BPACC, her acting has also taken her to DeSoto Family Theatre, Germantown Community Theatre, Harrell Theatre, Kudzu Playhouse, Panola Playhouse, and Theatre Memphis. She has also directed and choreographed for Desoto Family Theatre, Harrell The- atre, and Kudzu Playhouse.

Luke Dabney Assistant Stage Manager

Luke Dabney is an actor who is in his third year with BPACC’s Youth Theatre as an assistant stage manager.

Luke is currently a sophomore in the BFA Performance program at the University of Mem- phis. As a stage actor, Luke has performed in Twelve Angry Jurors and Pippin, which received the 2019 Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards Best Show. As a voice actor, he was featured in Calley Anderson’s show The Story and the Teller.

In Luke’s free time, he enjoys playing video games, writing plays and scripts, and spending time with his .

Ryan McCrory Lighting Design

Ryan McCrory is a lighting designer and a native Memphian who is in his third season with BPACC. He graduated from Bethel University with a Theatre degree in 2017.

In his spare time, Ryan is also an actor and filmmaker. Ryan manages Blue Lion Pictures, his own independent film company, and had his award-winning short film “No Angels in the Shape of Men” feature in the Indie Memphis Film Festival, Indie Short Fest, IndieX Fest, Knoxville Film Festival, Southern Oasis Film Festival, and the Wild Bunch Film Festival. Ryan would like to thank the BPACC staff for all their support over the years. Briana M. Patton Stage Manager

Briana M. Patton is an actress, creative consultant, and choreographer who is in her first year with BPACC.

Briana has been involved in numerous productions around the Mid-South, whether it was onstage, backstage, or even behind-the-scenes. Briana’s favorite performance credits include productions like DeSoto Family Theatre’s Newsies as Mike, Hattiloo Theatre’s Jelly’s Last Jam as Hunnie, and Theatre Memphis’s Hairspray as Cindy Watkins. Currently, Briana is study- ing Health Administration at the University of Memphis. She enjoys dancing, playing with her cat, and playing video games in her free time.

Briana is thrilled to make her technical debut at BPACC as The Little Mermaid’s stage manag- er. She feels honored to watch this cast fully enjoy this experience, even in such trying times. Briana wants to thank everyone in her life for the opportunity to continue doing what she loves.

Debbie Vaughn Music Director

Debbie Vaughn is a music director, drama teacher, and an actress originally from Knoxville, TN. Involved in theatre for over three decades, Debbie’s theatre experiences have led to work in , New Orleans, and Memphis. She currently teaches drama at The Cordova Tutorial, serves on the praise team at Ellendale Baptist Church, and directs Youth Theatre Camps here at BPACC.

Michael Bollinger Producer & BPACC Director

Michael Bollinger is in the middle of his fifth year as Artistic Director of BPACC. He has served as director of theaters and performing arts centers in Virginia and greater New York City, plus a long stint as artistic director of the Lyceum Theatre, Missouri’s oldest profession- al regional theater. Mr. Bollinger has produced and directed over 200 theatrical productions, including the American regional theatre premiere of Elton John’s Aida. He’s presented over 500 concerts and events including Grammy, CMA, Blues, Dove, and Tony Award winning artists. A few of the favorite shows he has produced &/or directed include Amadeus, Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, Man of La Mancha, and Steel Magnolias. Michael’s creative work has been honored with a Missouri Arts Award, a Missouri Governor’s Proclamation, and a commenda- tion from President Clinton. He sends love to his children Allison and Tanner and his little buddy Jasper!

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film produced by Howard Ashman & John Musker and written & directed by John Musker & Ron Clements

Produced in arrangement with Music Theatre International