South School's drama club prepares for "The Little Mermaid

Fifth-grader Sophia Scaccia, left, practices her dance moves on Tuesday afternoon at South School. 

By APRIL GUILMET
Union Leader Correspondent
LONDONDERRY -- Transforming the South Elementary School gymnasium into a Technicolor undersea world is, admittedly, no easy task.
For the members of South Elementary School’s drama club, who are deep in the midst of preparations for their springtime production of “The Little Mermaid,” however, it’s a labor of love.
Deanna Poulin, a fourth-grade teacher at South School, is one of 20 or so staff members who’ve been working on the play’s production since fall.
Poulin, like the other school staffers overseeing the drama club, has been volunteering her time outside of regular school hours. 
There are approximately 70 fourth- and fifth-graders in the club, including actors, dancers and set production. Auditions for the show took place in October and weekly Tuesday afternoon rehearsals began soon after. 
According to Poulin, the cast includes actors, dancers and scenery crew members carrying out various roles and responsibilities, from the elaborate papier-mache barrels placed on the deck of the prince’s galleon, to Princess Ariel’s elaborately decorated wedding cake. 
The school’s version of “The Little Mermaid” is based on the 1989 Walt Disney animated film by the same name and is a modified version of the film’s 2008 Broadway stage adaptation. 
South School has offered a full drama program for nearly a decade. For many years it was the district’s only elementary school to do so, though in recent years Matthew Thornton School has also formed its own drama club. 
Performances of “The Little Mermaid” will take place April 13, 14 and 15 at the school. For more information, call South School at 432-6956.