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Ever since I was a little kid I always loved to perform, theatre has been my comfort, my happy place, my time to shine. I always loved doing a theatre summer camp, getting to learn music, pick out costumes, trying to figure out how to coordinate my feet with my hands so I didn't look like a total klutz dancing on stage ;) There was just something special about putting on a show for me. As I grew older I found that I loved the directing aspect of theatre as well. I kept thinking to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if I could find a way to let other kids experience that special feeling of putting on a show?"  And so, Curtain Up Theatre Camp was born! I never would have thought that I would be getting to direct something so spectacular, so wonderful, so fulfilling, let alone in TWO WEEKS!

These kids have really worked hard and I'm so proud of them. In just these two short weeks they have accomplished so much and it really paid off. On Monday everyone came in and we audition them, Tuesday morning we announced who would be playing what roles and then we hit the ground running! We learned music, choreography, blocking, everything for this show. It's been a challenge, but I'm so proud of them for rising to the occasion and giving it their all. I also want to say that none of this would have happened without the help of my amazing production team and camp staff, it has truly been a blessing to work with all of you. 

The Little Mermaid is such a fun, heartwarming story, and I'm so glad we get to share it with you. I went back and re-read the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale.  It begins “Far out in the sea, in a time long ago…”  Fairytales have been told for hundreds of years, and with those words, your imagination can take you on an exciting adventure.

This is where I began my journey with this show: with the superpower that is the imagination.  Tonight, I ask that you allow your imagination to lead you through this story about a father who is blinded by his love for his daughter, and a daughter that has the determination to go after her dreams.  No matter how much we love someone, we can’t always protect them.  Sometimes we have to let them go, so that they can live.  I hope tonight, you get swept away to another world in another time and go on this journey with us under the sea.

                                                    -Zac Anderson

                                                     Curtain Up Theatre Camp Director