Adventures Under the Sea: The Great Age Gap

This past week I had the pleasure of being able to work 2 on 1 with Ariel and Flounder for their "Part of Your World" blocking review. The age range for the show is 9 year olds to 16 year olds, and working with the different ages is a lot much of a difference than I would have expected. Every single one of our cast members is talented and smart, but you can definitely tell the different life experiences they have had by the way they interact with each other, me, and the text. The younger ones, for example are very bouncy energetic when they aren't working, but once you ask them to do the choreography on their own, all of the sudden their eyes are glued to you with a look of mild panic until you steer them in the right direction with a simple reminder of the upcoming movement. The older kids, however, tend to take more ownership of their stuff, even their mistakes which is really lovely to watch. The girl who plays Ariel is a bright, extremely talented 16 year old with nervous feet on stage. As soon as I pointed that out, though, she immediately began having a conversation with me about ways we could fix this. Flounder is a bit younger, but one of the smartest little kids I've had the pleasure of meeting. Her questions sometimes throw me for a loop, and require some genuine thought behind them. This is not to say that the younger kids aren't eager to learn, but I've found that I connect more with the older ones who can use their humor, intelligence, and passion to connect with me versus the younger ones who try their darndest, but aren't quite there yet. That being said, I'm enjoying interacting with the older ones but watching and helping the younger ones grow.