PRODUCTION NOTES

• Costumes and choreography reflect the time and place: a Caribbean island in the 1970s. Ariel and The Divas, Miranda and Carib are children of nature with their own wildly imaginative tastes. Victor might dress severely at first, later more colorfully.
• The set can be simple or complex. Victor's Control Room, with its flashing lights and jury-rigged equipment, is the point of greatest interest. Sand, rocks, trees, vines, and found objects suggest other locations. A projection screen reveals Island maps, photos, magazine covers, and other images (from the past, present, or future) that orient the audience, enhance staging, or add humor.
• Time and place can be evoked, as the audience enters, with a looping slide show (including "faux" images specific to the play, to introduce the story) accompanied by appropriate music. Screen images of the characters "later in time" let the audience leave laughing while the band rocks on.

Our high school's production of Ariel's Way was truly a community project, which brought together many different segments of our school-actors, dancers, singers, musicians, artists, technicians, costume designers, teachers, and parents. We had so much fun with the different musical styles, from Reggae, to country, to good old rock 'n' roll. Hearing the music of Ariel's Way always brings a smile to my face!

Carrie Huff
Theatre teacher and Upper School head
Carolina Friends School