About the Show

A cast of ten homeschooled teens take an exploratory deep dive into the realm of The Little Mermaid, from Disney's happy ending to the explicit traumas of Hans Christian Andersen's original. Not that there's any correspondence between the pain of becoming an adult and the pain of having your tongue cut out and boiled... 

Music! Puppetry! Water safety! Stage blood! 

(In other words, parental discretion is advised.)
 

Cast & Creative Team

Conceived and Directed by Ayun Halliday

Cast // Collaborators<br> 
Dan Allen<br>
Valentina Giovannini<br>
Max Hamilton<br>
Quintin Harris<br>
Sydney Harris<br>
Milo Kotis<br>
Kaiulani Lee<br>
Leo Lion<br>
Emily Mondrus<br>
Izzy Pflanz

Production Stage Manager: Thomas Pflanz<br>
Tech Hand: Matteo Giovannini

Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's story
Created by Ayun Halliday
With additional contributions from the cast

A Note on the Creation

In addition to restoring some of the grislier realities of the original tale, the cast, who range in age from 14 to 17, used the Little Mermaid's transition (and its motivating factors) as a springboard to examine their own experience. Specific assignments helped them generate songs, monologues, and autobiographical observations both comic and serious to integrate into Andersen's original story. This show was created by teenagers, under the belief that the final piece will be relevant to audiences of all ages.