For Marco Island Academy’s production of The Little Mermaid Mr. Dayett, the head of performing arts, had his Theatre Design and Marketing class tasked with designing and building a fully rotational set piece in a short period of time. 

Dayett’s vision for the set itself was envisioned to have a small set that can expand and open everyone into the magic of being under the sea or in Prince Eric’s castle. The first steps of this huge project were the actual design process itself and gathering the supplies needed. Students gathered wood, screws, staples, and wheels; with these things, they were ready to begin building the structure. Once they had the measurements for the set, with Mr. Dayett’s assistance, they started to cut wood and slowly put things together. 

After 4 months, the students had created a full rotational set and 2 rotating inverted triangles. Although this project was extremely rewarding, this process was definitely not easy. Whether that was being set back by cutting the wrong size of wood, running out of wood, or things breaking, this process wasn’t a piece of cake. Once reflecting on where they are now, this experience has been extremely rewarding.

Baylor Chapin, a student in the Theatre Design and Marketing class said, “It was very difficult but I knew we were going to get it done as we worked together. Something I took out of it was cutting wood and building in general, I wouldn’t have had this experience without this class.”

Currently, the set has been painted and is ready to make its debut on April 8th and 9th. Kira Swanson, a student in Design and Marketing and Ariel in the production of The Little Mermaid says “it’s been a learning experience working more behind the scenes, and being a part of the designing process has been a lot of fun. I was able to give my own ideas and see the show really come to life from a totally different perspective. It was a long process and it did take a lot of work but the outcome is rewarding.” These students have taken this project to the next level and have learned so much from this experience that will help them in the future. Whether that is going into theatre, design, or really anything else, these lessons will help them with their future to come.