Written by Susie St. Clair
Every month, students at Unionville High School with an admiration for theater flock to auditions and practices for what they know as “The May Play”. This year, the Unionville theater department chose to portray its own version of The Little Mermaid, a play originally written by Hans Christian Anderson. Unionville High School, a high school in Kennett Square, is dedicated to its well-crafted Theater program, and at Unionville, students gain the opportunity to be background dancers, and main stars, or just help out as a member of the stage crew.
On April 5th, I interviewed one of those stars, Noor Choudary. Noor participated in the play by playing the part of Ursula, the main antagonist of the story. During my time interviewing Noor, she said that “community is the best part of the musical, since the community is very tight-knit”,
due to her positive experiences with other theater members. Noor describes the connection between her fellow theater actors and crew as having a “positive attitude throughout, and even when it’s not positive we all have each other” which just goes to show how the theater program at Unionville is a close community, full of acceptance and positivity.
This wasn’t all she had had to say, however, as she had also mentioned that “since a lot of us have been doing this for a long time, it was super nostalgic” because most actors and stage crew have been in theater programs for a long time. So having put all her experience and hard work into the play, it felt nostalgic for her to perform, since she’s acting for a long time.
Noor had received her role through auditioning, saying that she had hoped from the beginning of auditions to potentially receive the role of Ursula. Noor reasons this because she thinks “it’s fun to play the villain” because of how she can use her acting skills to portray a complex character. Also, with her previous acting roles, she thought herself fit for the role, which the Unionville directors who chose her for the role would agree.
Having a talent for singing is one thing, but having a knack for performing and singing on a bright stage in front of hundreds of people truly is an art form. The Little Mermaid allowed Noor to experience theatrical nostalgia, as well as become a part of a growing community of Theater lovers, all at a small high school in Kennett Square, PA.
